Five months after a renovation project launched by the Taipei City Government forced Taipei's oldest food market to close, the city government is trying again to revive the market, but the lack of a detailed plan has only generated scepticism among local councilors.
The Jiancheng Circle (
Facing mounting criticism from the local community that the project has seriously damaged the history and culture of the area, the city government has vowed to once again revive the circle, and a public bid for the project is scheduled to be announced on Thursday.
According to Chen Hsiung-wen (
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
"Local business' opinions will be respected ? But I can't give you a timeline before the new contractor is determined" he said during an inspection tour to the circle.
Local borough chiefs and city councilors from both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), however, shared their disappointment over the government's passiveness and vagueness in the latest attempt.
"The project failed in the first place because the city government didn't listen to what local residents had to say. The renovated circle lost all its traditional flavor," borough chief Chou Chi-hsian (
KMT Councilor Chen Yu-mei (陳玉梅) and DPP Councilor Lee Wen-ying (李文英) agreed, urging the city government to redesign the building and try to integrate the circle with adjacent attractions, including Ningxia Night Market and the Huaying Business Circle.
"So far we see no detailed plans or objectives from the city government's project. We can only pray for luck for the market," Chen said.
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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