Following their inauguration on Tuesday, the mayors of the six special municipalities yesterday attended a meeting of the Executive Yuan in Taipei and tendered their proposals for central government funding for local projects.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) submitted a budget proposal asking the central government to fund the municipality’s mass public transportation projects.
Hou’s proposal seeks to build three circular MRT lines linking New Taipei City to Taoyuan and Taipei, with the addition of six other lines — an extension of the light rail system in Bali District (八里); a light rail system in Tamsui; a line connecting Wugu District (五股) to Taishan District (泰山); one in Shenkeng District (深坑); one in Ankeng District (安坑); and a Minsheng-Sijhih line.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) also requested funding for transportation projects, in particular an extension of the metro service in Kaohsiung to Lujhu (路竹) and Linyuan (林園) districts.
Han said he had separated the Kaohsiung MRT project into three categories based on their urgency: the Red, Blue and Green lines, in ascending order.
Sharing his experiencing in seeking central government support, Premier William Lai (賴清德), a former mayor of Tainan, said that if local policies dovetail with central government policies, it would not only facilitate requests for funding, but would also ensure that such policies would be carried out at the local level.
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said that reducing the number of thermal power plants would help ameliorate poor air quality in Taichung.
Lai replied that the central government would abide by the results of a referendum on the issue last month, adding that the Ministry of Economic Affairs is conducting an overall review of the nation’s energy policy and would inform local governments after completing the task.
The meeting between Lai and the six municipal mayors was amicable, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said.
The central government will offer its support to policies previously agreed upon and party affiliation will not be a factor, Kolas quoted Lai as saying.
“Neither the central government nor the local governments can shoulder the development of the nation’s infrastructure or economy alone; it must be a joint effort,” she quoted the premier as saying.
All mayors expressed their concern over government efforts to prevent African swine fever from spreading to Taiwan, Kolas added.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS