The three major candidates vying for Taipei mayor in the Nov. 26 local election yesterday focused on housing and urban renewal in a two-hour SetTV and TVBS debate.
In his opening statements, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator and mayoral candidate Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said he hoped to “revive Taipei,” where he was born and raised.
He called for “one Taipei, four developments, five major hubs.”
Photo courtesy of SetTV and TVBS
That would include making Taipei a more international, livable, technological and innovative city, and a hub for exhibitions, financial activities, 5G development, digital content, and cultural and creative industries, he said.
He also called for urban renewal, saying that more than 70 percent of the city’s buildings are more than 30 years old, and addressed the declining birthrate, saying the number of newborns in the city had declined to 16,695 last year, about half the number eight years ago.
Chiang said he would double the city’s “baby bonus” to NT$40,000, reduce childcare fees for young children and give young parents priority for social housing.
Photo: CNA
Chiang also questioned Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who was minister of health and welfare and head of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), about his COVID-19 policies.
In his opening statements, Chen brushed off the questions, saying he had already answered them many times, adding “you cannot wake up a person who is pretending to be asleep.”
Chen said he entered politics because he was passionate about public affairs and disappointed in the performance of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
Photo: CNA
Chen said he has already proposed 170 policy ideas to improve the city faster, adding that he supports lowering the voting age to 18, which is on a referendum to be held along with the elections.
He said he plans to improve traffic in Neihu District (內湖), push for urban renewal, increase social housing for young people, provide a maternity allowance of NT$36,000, increase access to babysitting services, improve road quality, create pet-friendly spaces and establish an international affairs department to connect Taipei with cities around the world.
Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), who is endorsed by Ko and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), said her 21 years as a Taipei city councilor and three years as deputy mayor showed she clearly understands city governance.
Photo: CNA
Calling herself the most “battle-ready” candidate to be mayor, Huang said she could immediately tackle the city’s pressing problems, including the high cost of housing, a rapidly aging population, extreme weather due to climate change, energy issues and housing justice.
She encouraged voters to push aside the conflicts of the pan-blue and pan-green camps and vote for her to be Taipei’s first female mayor.
Regarding the scandal-dogged Taipei Dome, which Chen brought up, Huang said that issues with its construction started under the KMT and had been dealt with by Ko, despite obstructions from the DPP-led government.
Chiang said the dome should be dealt with according to the law, and that he would negotiate with the construction company for a better solution, while ensuring that it would be a safe venue for sports.
A TVBS reporter asked the candidates how they would ensure housing justice and lower housing costs.
Chiang said that low salaries and high costs have made it difficult for young people to own a home, while the city government’s poor planning and execution have hindered social housing programs.
He said he would provide more job opportunities by seeking to revive businesses in the city, while offering rent subsidies.
Huang said that Ko’s administration built more social housing units than anywhere else in the country, so she would continue his policies, while seeking to transform hotels into housing units and offering incentives for people to lease empty properties.
She also questioned Chiang on why he did not propose social housing bills in his six years as a legislator.
Chen said he would build more social housing units and increase the number subleased by property management companies to a total of 57,000 social housing units, cooperate with the central government to release more public land or facilities, and also offer rent discounts and subsidies.
A SetTV reporter asked the candidates what they would do to protect freedom and democracy in the face of threats from China.
Chen said that Taiwan is a sovereign country, and he would increase civil defense personnel and substantially enhance civil defense training, as well as educate the public on how to identify disinformation.
Chiang said that he would abide by the Constitution in defending defends the nation’s democracy and freedom, adding that he would carry out air defense drills.
Huang said that her guiding principle would be “peace first, priority to prosperity and the people.”
In their concluding remarks, Huang said that Taipei should support an independent candidate, who has always pursued fairness and justice.
Chiang said that with his skills as a Silicon Valley lawyer, legislator and father, he would seek to bring Taipei to the world.
Chen said that the COVID-19 pandemic brought people in Taiwan together, and he hopes to devote the last stage of his political life to serving Taipei, his favorite city.
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