The Taipei City Government refused yesterday to contribute funds for the demolition and reconstruction of a public housing complex in the Nankang District which was built with sea sand.
City officials say that Taipei shouldn't be held legally accountable for the public housing complex because the 16-year-old building has already passed the warranty period of 10 years.
Visibly unhappy with the city's decision, complex residents and city councilors refused to accept the news and gave city officials two weeks to find a more reasonable and concrete plan.
City councilors also encouraged residents to file suit against the city government in order to rally support from other city councilors to ask Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to deliver a special report regarding the issue on the council floor.
On Aug. 3, the city agreed to tear down the Hsiuteh Public Housing Complex within five years on the advice of an evaluation report released by the Taipei Professional Civil Engineering Association.
While most concrete buildings are constructed using river sand, those built with poorly processed sea sand pose a potential hazard because chlorine ions contained in the sand gradually eat into the concrete and rebar of the building's structure.
Wang Ching-hi (
"We'll offer each family NT$100,000 for the reinforcement project. We'll also offer administrative assistance in filing for tax exemptions and switching to new schools for children," he said.
New Party City Councilwoman Huang Shan-shan (
"The two major issues residents have been most concerned about since day one are reconstruction and relocation. We have yet to see the city show any interest in solving those problems," Huang said.
New Party City Councilman Deng Chia-chi (
KMT City Councilman Wu Shih-cheng (
Chen Li-tsai (
"While I have to ask for leave from work to make it to meetings like this, city officials just sit there pretending to listen to our opinions. And then they go home and forget all about what we say," he said.
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