Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) yesterday brought up the decade-old issue of relocating the Legislative Yuan, urging the legislature to carry out the move as soon as possible.
The legislature should be relocated to the site that previously housed the Ministry of National Defense’s Air Force Command Headquarters, which has been relocated to Taipei’s Dazhi District (大直), Chen told a press conference.
The legislature pays NT$53.23 million (US$1.78 million) a year in rent to the Taipei City Government for its present site.
Even though a relocation proposal was submitted in 1992 and the proposal was passed with a budget of NT$10 billion, the legislature remains at the same location 20 years later, Chen said.
“The inaction on relocation, a plan that has been approved, is very ironic for the Legislative Yuan as a law-making institution. Paying so much rent every year is a waste of public funds,” he said.
Given the density of the neighborhood, the timeworn buildings and the less-than-satisfactory equipment and interior design, the legislature “doesn’t look like a national congress at all,” he said.
As the 7.2 hectare block where the air force command used to be is exceptional for both its size and prime location, Chen said he feared it would be purchased and developed by a property developer in the future.
However, Kuo Hsio-jung (郭曉蓉), an official of the National Property Administration, said the land would not be developed as a housing project after it was transferred back to the administration from the defense ministry without the agency’s approval.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address