Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday vowed to rejuvenate the city with urban renewal projects, municipal developments and better public service in the next four years as he was sworn in in a ceremony that marked the beginning of his second term.
Taking the official seal from Vice Premier Sean Chen at Taipei City Hall, the mayor pledged to focus his second term on policies that will turn Taipei into a younger and more energetic city, including offering childbirth subsidies, zero-interest loans for startup businesses and overseas studies and affordable rental housing units.
“Taipei is a great city, but not young enough ... The policies are aimed at attracting younger people to work and live in Taipei ... I will be the mayor of all citizens and increase the city’s international competitiveness,” Hau of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said.
In his inauguration speech, Hau promised to enhance communication with the public and make more efforts to explain municipal policies to the people.
“Communication is the most important thing I’ve learned in the past months during the election campaign. I will communicate with the public more and carry out my campaign promises,” he said.
The city government will also include issues raised by the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who lost to Hau in the Nov. 27 mayoral election, such as planting more trees and building green boulevards in the city, in discussions for municipal developments, Hau said.
For his second term, Hau promised to complete the road surface improvement project that will make 675 major roads in the city more even and push further for the 1999 Taipei Citizen Hotline to offer 24-hour service to residents.
He said he would also work closely with New Taipei City (新北市, the proposed English name of the upgraded Taipei County) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) over the next four years to turn the banks along the Tamsui River (淡水河) into recreational areas and build more MRT lines connecting the two municipalities.
The 37 members of new administrative team in Taipei City were also sworn in. Representing outgoing officials in a farewell speech, former Taipei deputy mayor Lin Chien-yuan (林建元) urged all administrative officials to be able to handle criticisms while focusing the efforts on municipal developments.
“The architect who designed the pavilions at the Taipei International Flora Expo won top awards after being criticized by the press. All officials should be able to take criticisms,” he said.
About 200 guests attended the ceremony yesterday, including former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) as well as foreign dignitaries.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS