Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) yesterday said he opposed a Cabinet proposal to tear down buildings previously used by the Taiwan Provincial Government to create a business district in the special municipality, adding that the Cabinet had agreed to discuss the matter with him.
Liming New Village (黎明新村), located in Nantun District (南屯), Greater Taichung, once held a branch of the Taiwan Provincial Government and also housed public servants.
While most Taiwan Provincial Government public servants were transferred to other government agencies following a major streamlining of its functions in 1998 to conform with political realities, more than 1,000 households of public servants remained in Liming New Village.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
Taichung Deputy Mayor Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家旗) said the European-style houses were rare in Taiwan and had historical value, adding that the community also has several green spaces the city wants to maintain.
The central government owns the land and buildings at Liming New Village and it plans to raze the village and sell the land to developers for the creation of a business district, Hsiao said.
“The Executive Yuan should take into consideration the opinions of the local government,” Hu said yesterday. “The areas around Liming New Village are overdeveloped ... we cherish the ‘lung of the city,’ so why should we remove and sell it so commercial buildings can be built?”
Hu said Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) had agreed to discuss the matter with him.
Government Information Office Minister Philip Yang (楊永明) yesterday said the proposal to build a business district was not a final decision and that the Cabinet respected the local government’s views on the matter.
According to the Executive Yuan’s plan, the money raised from selling the property would help fund construction of an advanced technology development park in Nantou County’s Jhongsing New Village (中興新村), the seat of Taiwan Province.
The Executive Yuan said the technology park would house 250 research and development units, including the state-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Institute of Information Industry, creating about 13,000 new jobs.
Under the proposal, the more than 1,000 households living in Liming New Village would be relocated to a community in Jhongsing New Village.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS