Minister without portfolio-designate Chang Ching-sen (張景森), yesterday apologized for his comments made about a campaign against a controversial urban renewal project in Taipei, but defended valuing the rights of the public more than those of individual property owners when it comes to expropriation and forced demolition for urban renewal.
“I would like to make it clear here that was an inappropriate satirical post, and I would like to formally apologize for it,” Chang said in a 3,000-word statement on Facebook. “As a government official-to-be who will soon be handling public policies, I interpreted the campaign in a scornful way, which does not help enhance communications and would only hurt the feelings of those who took part in the campaign. I must admit this mistake, accept all criticism, and apologize to the public.”
Chang was referring to post he made on Facebook earlier in the week in which he said that a family, surnamed Wang (王), living in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) who opposed an urban renewal project was eventually given five units in a newly built luxury apartment building, with a market value of more than NT$100 million (US$3.1 million).
The forced eviction of the Wang family from their home and demolition of the property by a city government demolition squad — escorted by about 1,000 police officers — saw violent clashes with mostly student activists siding with the Wangs that triggered harsh criticism from the public.
Chang said that he “pities” the student activists who shed tears for the Wang family.
Chang deleted the post within minutes, but still drew public ire.
Chang also said that, having been an academic specializing in urban planning and serving in several government positions, he upholds the values of city planning to make Taiwan safe, beautiful and comfortable.
“Civic groups that have directly interacted with me know that I am not too different from them in pushing for reforms, but I may be different when it comes to strategy, action, and judgements on priority because of my practical experience,” Chang said.
Chang said that he would always place public interest as the priority of his policy objectives and while he also respects individual property owners’ rights, he would try to persuade them to make concessions to benefit the greater good.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS