Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday announced the establishment of a “Greater Bade Business District Alliance” as part of the local government’s moves to create a tourist recreational zone in the heart of Taipei.
Ko promised to put the full weight of the city government behind efforts to link the Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Syntrend Creative Park, Guanghua Digital Plaza, Chienkuo Brewery and National Taipei University of Technology.
“There’s no reason to be afraid of conflict, but there should be a mechanism for addressing it,” Ko said, adding that the government would put more resolve and energy into integrating the district.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
The previous city administration’s efforts to develop the area into a huge electronics and computer district ran into controversy over whether the city-sponsored Syntrend Creative Park development would compete for business with the Guanghua Digital Plaza.
Ko has questioned the reasonableness of Syntrend’s contract terms and its purported role in the business district.
“Negotiations are still ongoing,” the mayor said, when asked if the establishment of the business district alliance signaled the end of the Syntrend controversy.
“While we obviously hope that Syntrend will shoulder appropriate responsibility, sometimes the government needs to move first. If you are willing to help, that would be great, but we will not wait for you,” he said.
The Taipei City Office of Commerce said it would call members of the alliance every month to discuss the district’s development needs, as well as any disagreements between members.
Following meetings with alliance members, the city has tentatively agreed to establish a pedestrian zone in two alleyways of Bade Road during weekends and holidays, the office said.
While plans have yet to be finalized pending on-site inspections, the aim would be to create a broader tourist district by drawing tourists from the Huashan 1914 Creative Park into neighboring developments.
Bade Business District Association president Tsai Juo-yun (蔡若芸) said that businesses hope the city’s move to establish a pedestrian zone would diversify and expand the consumer base in the area.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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