Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) promised to facilitate the construction of the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) new office compound in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) despite protests from local residents and councilors, a US diplomatic cable released online by WikiLeaks showed.
In a meeting with AIT Director William Stanton on Sept. 14, 2009, Hau said the city government had already blocked a local school project at the site to “keep the door open” for AIT’s expansion plans, according to the cable.
In response to Stanton’s call for cooperation from the city with the AIT’s attempt to acquire land adjacent to the new office compound for future use — including housing for AIT personnel or a language school — Hau said that while the city could not sell the land to AIT, a property exchange with the government was possible, the cable said.
Photo: CNA
Taipei City Government spokesperson Chang Chi-chiang (張其強) yesterday said the city did not halt a school project to facilitate the office compound’s construction, adding that many school construction projects in the city had at the time already been cancelled because of a declining number of students, the result of a dwindling birth rate.
“The land housing the AIT’s new office building was legally acquired and the construction project proceeded in accordance with regulations,” he said, dismissing concerns about any measures taken by the city government to facilitate the project.
Construction of the new AIT building, which is set to occupy more than 65,000m2 of government-owned land on Jinhu Road in Neihu, is scheduled to be completed next year.
AIT has signed a contract with the Taiwanese government to lease the land for 99 years for NT$339 million (US$11.6 million). The complex will replace the AIT compound in downtown Taipei that accommodates about 200 US and locally engaged staff, and is protected by Taiwanese police.
However, construction of the AIT office will likely fail to meet the target completion date as obstacles delaying construction were believed to stem from a request by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration for information on the office’s structure and location, including plans about quarters housing US Marines.
The cable revealed that Hau urged Stanton to be aggressive in arranging such a swap with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which he said was hesitant to take any responsibility.
Stanton is then reported to have expressed his gratitude for Hau’s foresight, saying that the new compound as a significant symbol of friendship and cooperation between the peoples of the US and Taiwan.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
RSS