In response to public criticism of the Taipei City Government not having planned any budgets for “old building checkups” this year, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said the service is financed by the city’s second reserve fund rather than a budgetary item, adding that subsequent actions to bolster building structures, rather than the checkup, is key to tackling dilapidated buildings posing potential threats to public safety.
The SET-TV on Tuesday reported that the city had terminated a project offering residents free inspections of the structures of their apartment buildings, and that it worried some Taipei city councilors and residents living in old buildings.
Ko said it was a misleading media report, adding that the second reserve fund, which customarily covers the checkups, had been put into place and that relevant agencies might apply for the funding to inspect old buildings.
“This was never a problem. The Taiwanese media give me headaches,” he said.
Asked what policies Taipei introduced to ensure building safety, given that New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Tuesday said all buildings in New Taipei City erected before the 921 Earthquake in 1999 would be qualified for free checkups, Ko said he is averse to “knee-jerk” reactions, and that policies to promote residential safety should be comprehensive.
“The old building checkups are not the point. The point is what happens after the checkup,” he said.
Ko criticized the nation’s “shallow” culture, economy and politics, which he said had often prevented Taiwanese from finding solutions to difficult issues.
Citing policies the city government devised to address murky tap water seen in the wake of Typhoon Souldelor in August last year, Ko said these policies required about six months from preliminary research to implementation as they would involve the excavation of 70 backup wells to and more than 50 water taps at schools.
Similarly, plans to boost a city’s resilience against earthquakes and land liquefaction should not be finalized in two weeks, Ko said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai