President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday dismissed criticism of his plan to rezone administrative districts, saying it was a way to raise the nation’s competitiveness and was not aimed at increasing his party’s election prospects.
Ma, who doubles as chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), said the plan would integrate local resources and make it easier to implement government policies.
“The government has never made drastic changes in administrative districts and we don’t want to delay the plan now that we’ve determined to do it,” Ma said yesterday when meeting township chiefs in Taoyuan County in his capacity as KMT chairman.
PHOTO: HUANG MEI-CHU, TAIPEI TIMES
“As the nation’s leader, I am concerned about the next generation, not the next election,” he said.
Under the plan, Taichung City and County will merge next year and become a special municipality, as will Tainan City and County. Taipei County will also be upgraded to a special municipality.
Under the revised Local Government Act (地方制度法), township chiefs and mayors in the affected cities and counties will be reappointed as directors, while township councilors will become their advisers.
Ma urged township heads not to worry about the changes as the government would help them during the transition.
Ma also campaigned yesterday for KMT legislative by-election candidate Apollo Chen (陳學聖) in Taoyuan and called on party members to work toward victory in the Feb. 27 polls.
Ma acknowledged the party’s defeat in last month’s legislative by-elections and said the party needed to win the next round of by-elections.
“The legislative by-elections are an important battle for the KMT and we cannot afford to lose this time,” he said.
In response to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) criticism of Chen for not being a Taoyuan native, Ma said Chen had served as director of Taoyuan County’s Department of Cultural Affairs and had served in the county for three years, urging the voters to give him their support.
The Feb. 27 polls will fill seats left vacant in Taoyuan, Hualien, Hsinchu and Chiayi counties after legislators in those districts were elected as county commissioners in December.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost