Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) announced yesterday that no further expansion of the Shida Night Market, one of the city’s busiest tourist attractions, would be permitted, in a bid a protect the rights of residents.
In addition to the expansion ban, Hau also instructed officials to ensure businesses in the area stick to strict management regulations and carefully screen new business applications.
Hau’s decision came after strong opposition from local residents, who accused businesses in the area of adversely impacting their quality of life and staged a demonstration on Oct. 26.
Hau said problems relating to noise, unpleasant odors from restaurants and issues with public safety violate the rights of residents and he instructed officials to conduct regular inspections and random checks.
Taipei City Government spokesman Chang Chi-chiang (張其強) said the local police precinct would also be told to make a greater effort to enforce the ban on illegal street vendors.
The city government had received complaints about 506 of the 647 businesses registered to work in the night market, Chang added.
Tax revenues from the night market near National Taiwan Normal University totaled NT$12.3 billion (US$408.6 million) in 2009, rising to NT$14.7 billion last year, figures from the Taipei National Tax Administration showed.
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