The Taipei City Government opened a 500m bike route yesterday in front of the Taipei Water Park, connecting Gongguan (公館) to the riverside bike path that runs from Sindian (新店) to Tamsui (淡水), in a bid to provide a better environment for the growing number of cyclists in the city.
To avoid affecting sidewalks and roads in the area, the government established the route on land in the water park, tearing down an outer wall to allow the path. The reconstruction cost the city government NT$38 million (US$1.1 million).
Taipei City’s Water Department suggested that residents could relax in the park and then ride along the bike route to the riverside in the afternoon or at night, as the department installed lighting systems along the route.
Addressing the launching ceremony at the park, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said the route would provide a safer and more convenient environment for cyclists and promised to increase the budget for urban renewal projects in Gongguan to bring more culture and art to the area.
A budget of NT$900 million will be listed in the next three years for urban renewal projects in Gongguan, including reconstruction of Treasure Hill (寶藏巖) and construction of Taipei City Hakka Cultural Park.
Treasure Hill, formerly home to war veterans who came to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) after its defeat by the Communists in 1949, is being rebuilt as the city government plans to turn the community into a park. Hakka Cultural Park, on the other hand, will be constructed on the current site of the Taipei Children’s Museum of Transportation, and is expected to be completed next year.
Taipei City and Taipei County now have more than 500km of dedicated bike paths. Taipei City has provided 16,000 racks for locking bicycles, including 1,100 double-decker racks outside MRT stations, and plans to to add more.
The department said it would expand the sidewalks on Dingzhou Road and create more bike routes in the near future.
In response to growing concerns abo0ut bike theft, Hau said the city government would instruct police to put more effort into stopping the crime.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a