Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka yesterday rejected claims by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) that the central government was trying to sabotage his administration.
At a question-and-answer session at the Kaohsiung City Council on Tuesday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Shao-ting (黃紹庭) suggested that due to a lack of cooperation from the central government, progress on major projects, such as the relocation of residents from Siaogang District’s (小港) Dalinpu Village (大林蒲) and the construction of a new yellow line on the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit system, have come to a standstill since Han took office on Dec. 25 last year.
He urged Han to do a live-stream video to address the issue.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
In response, Han said he would not only do a live-stream video, but would do so at Dalinpu Village — with its residents.
Since he took office, only one meeting has been held on the Dalinpu project, Han said, urging the central government not to sabotage Kaohsiung.
Kolas said that the Ministry of Economic Affairs has been in touch with the city government with regard to the Dalinpu project and has been facilitating its progress through the time of former premiers Lin Chuan (林全) and William Lai (賴清德) to Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).
In October last year, the ministry submitted the project to the Executive Yuan for review; in February, it invited the Kaohsiung Economic Development Bureau to a meeting to express its intention to continue with the project; in March, the city government expressed its support for the project and asked the Executive Yuan to approve it as soon as possible; and last month, the ministry and the city government attended an Executive Yuan review meeting where they both agreed to move forward on the project and the Executive Yuan ordered that progress be sped up, Kolas wrote on Facebook.
This month, the ministry and the city government agreed that in April 2021, they would begin quoting a price for the relocation of residents after assigning the land for a circular economy park, she wrote.
The ministry’s Industrial Development Bureau asked the city government to provide before May 8 an updated plan, schedule and funding proposal, she wrote.
The city government on Wednesday last week submitted the funding proposal and other information, and the bureau is working on forwarding the updated plan to the Executive Yuan, she added.
The Dalinpu project involves more than 300 hectares of land and would affect not only the development of the domestic petrochemical industry, but many families, she said.
Furthermore, the ministry is the one who has been proactive on the project, calling several meetings to track its progress and allocating funds to support it, she added.
Relevant agencies in the Kaohsiung City Government have also been cooperative, she said, adding that progress is being made.
As for transportation projects, between Lai’s premiership and Su’s, the central government has given the Kaohsiung City Government NT$8.4 million (US$266,413) to plan and assess a proposed extension of the Kaohsiung MRT from Siaogang Station (小港) to the Linyuan District (林園), she wrote.
Under the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, the central government has also given the city government an additional NT$85 million — NT$50 million for research on the feasibility of extending the metro system into Pingtung County and NT$35 million to plan the new yellow line, she wrote.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications have detailed records of the official documents and meetings on the projects, she wrote.
The mayor is welcome to attend today the Executive Yuan meeting in Taipei, which he has not attended for a long time, to clarify the issue, she added.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
RSS