Confident in the accomplishment of having raised tourism in Taitung County by 50 percent over the past four years, incumbent Taitung County Commissioner Justin Huang (黃健庭) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said he is certain to win re-election on Nov. 29.
The main obstacles for the development of the county have been the economy and transportation, Huang said in a recent interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper), adding that he has solved both through the promotion of tourism.
The Taitung County Government is saddled with NT$10.2 billion (US$335 million) in personnel costs against just NT$1.6 billion in revenue, but the total amount of bonds floated over four years reached NT$1.7 billion, Huang said.
Not only has he accrued NT$1.2 billion less debt than previous commissioners, Huang said, he doubled construction contract costs to NT$1.5 billion.
Construction has caused dormant land values to rise and allowed the county government to sell land previously of no interest to buyers, Huang said, adding that with more land being used by the public, the county’s revenue has also increased substantially.
The old Taiwan Railway Administration’s Taitung Station had once been the busiest commercial district in Taitung City, but entered a decade-long decline, Huang said; however, he added that over the past four years, the district has once again become the cradle for a vibrant commercial zone for art and literature and home to a modern cinema complex.
Such a revival was due only to the county government’s continued efforts and dialogue with the TRA and the central government to use government land, Huang said, adding that the county has also worked hard at preparing funding requests for the central government to subsidize cultural creative industries in the area.
Funding for continued events and subsidies for Aboriginal villages in the county are also included in the central government subsidies, Huang said.
On government, Huang said his proudest achievement was that he made the county’s civil servants actually mean something.
On matters of infrastructure, Huang said that the electrification of the county’s railways — an initiative he pushed through while serving as legislator — had paid off, adding that during his term, he ensured that the Puyuma Express became operational.
With the Puyuma Express linking Taitung County to Taipei within three-and-a-half hours, it brought more investment and development in the tourism sector, Huang said.
However, he added, the county had also passed legislation regulating the increased development of such facilities to lessen damage to the environment, as Taitung’s scenery is also an attraction for tourists.
Huang also said that the hot air balloon festival, originally subsidized by the central government with an amount of just NT$9 million, had become a great success, succeeding the paragliding industry the county government had failed to make popular, Huang said.
“Poor counties have to make the best of what resources they have, and when used the right way, even counties of lesser wealth can reverse their fortunes,” Huang said.
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