Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday vowed to turn the Shezidao (社子島) peninsula into Taipei’s Manhattan within 11 years after a long-stalled development project for the area passed the review of the Council for Economic Planning and Development yesterday.
The city government will budget NT$70 billion (US$2.1 billion) over 11 years to develop the 240-hectare area, including flood-prevention construction, new housing projects and recreational facilities.
“The development of Shezidao used to seem like an impossible dream, but now we can finally transform the area... We will turn Shezidao into the Manhattan of Taipei,” Hau told a press conference yesterday at Taipei City Hall.
Ting Yu-chun (丁育群), commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Urban Development, said the city government will start purchasing land from local residents and begin flood prevention construction as soon as July.
Hau said that the city government would make the interests of the district’s more than 10,000 residents its priority, promising to help them by providing better housing.
The Shezidao peninsula is a low-lying area in Taipei City that suffers from flooding during typhoons, and many illegal remain in the area.
The city government proposed the project to redevelop the area and solve the flooding problem 10 years ago, but it has been stalled because of opposition from Taipei County, which feared that flooding construction work in Shezidao could force the water to flow to low-lying areas in Sanchong (三重) and Lujhou (蘆洲).
Hau said the Taipei County Government presented an urban development project for Sanchong and Lujhou cities to solve any possible flooding.
The city government will conduct an environmental impact assessment for the area while proceeding with the development project, he said.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
Japanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.” Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. He was elected to the House of Concilors last year. His views on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — espoused in a series of books on politics and history — prompted Beijing to sanction him, including barring Seki from traveling to China. Seki wrote on X that he intends
RSS