On the first anniversary of Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin's (郝龍斌) inauguration, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City caucus yesterday expressed its dissatisfaction over major municipal developments and urged Hau to stop focusing on confronting the central government.
Hau yesterday spoke of some major municipal challenges and achievements during his first year in office, including the construction of the exclusive bus lanes on Roosevelt Road, the management of Taipei Arena and the technical problems with the Maokong Gondola, vowing to continue making Taipei a better city.
"Facing all the challenges, we have always followed the laws and regulations and have managed to fix most of the problems," Hau said yesterday at the anniversary ceremony at the Taipei Arena.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES
DPP Taipei City Councilor Chen Chia-ming (
"The city government budged NT$4 billion [US$120 million] to dredge the river, but did not do anything. Besides, in order to dredge the Danshui River, the city government turned the Keelung River into a gutter for waste water from the Danshui River," Chen said yesterday at the Taipei City Council.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Wu Su-yao (
Wu said that media coverage on Hau had focused on his administration's confrontation with the central government, followed by the Maokong Gondola and Taipei Arena problems and his campaigning for KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
"The city government will hold 22 big events with a budget of NT$28 million next year and plans to invite Ma to attend those events. Evidently those are campaign activities for Ma," Wu said.
Hau yesterday acknowledged his administration's problematic relations with the central government, but blamed the central government for creating the conflicts.
"We have been in a passive position in the disputes with the central government. The city government does not stir up trouble. However, we will fight for our rights in line with the law," he added.
Outside Taipei Arena, a small group of people from Taipei City's parking management union protested against the city government's allegedly illegal layoff of four of its members.
Protected by more than 200 police outside the arena who kept the protesters at bay, Hau dismissed the union's calls for him to negotiate the issue, adding that he supported the city's transportation department decision to fire the workers, who had illegally taken 200 days off last year.
Starbucks Taiwan’s decision to charge for drink customization, which had been free, has sparked consumer backlash, highlighting the challenge of raising prices without making customers feel they are losing value, experts said. Since Oct. 12, customers who order drinks with less or no ice and ask to have the volume topped up with milk or other liquid have been charged an additional NT$15. Topping off drinks without ice was previously free, and disgruntled customers posted photos on social media showing that iced drinks ordered without ice were only half full if the extra NT$15 was not paid. The posts drew tens of thousands
EXPLANATION: Tsai said he attended events featuring various interviewees to observe them firsthand as part of his interview research Television host Kevin Tsai (蔡康永) last night broke his silence over a controversy surrounding his appearance at a campaign event for Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋), saying he had never supported Taiwan independence. “I have always hoped for friendly cross-strait relations. I have never supported Taiwan independence,” Tsai wrote in a post on the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo. Tsai, who has hosted television shows in China, attended the opening of Shen’s campaign headquarters on Oct. 4, drawing criticism from Chinese social media users and prompting some Chinese companies to distance themselves from him. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
The husband of a Taiwanese woman stabbed to death at a hotel in Japan has been detained on suspicion of entering into a sham marriage and taking out high-value insurance policies in her name, Tainan prosecutors said today. A woman surnamed Ching (井), 38, was killed on Monday last week at a tourist hotel in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan. A Taiwanese woman surnamed Yang (楊) was arrested by Japanese police on suspicion of murder, Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office deputy chief prosecutor Wang Sheng-hao (王聖豪) said. Investigators suspect that Ching's new husband, surnamed Lee (李), 29, arranged a sham marriage, encouraged her to travel to Japan
Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet Air launched a new route yesterday between Tainan and Hanoi, becoming the third international route offered out of the southern Taiwan airport. Tainan Deputy Mayor Yeh Tse-shan (葉澤山) greeted passengers on the inaugural inbound flight from Hanoi, while noting that all 230 seats on the outbound flight had sold out. Flights on the route, which use the Airbus 321, will be offered four times weekly, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. According to VietJet, the flights will depart Hanoi at 7:50 am and arrive in Tainan at 11:10 am The return
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