Whether the future Taipei Sports Dome (巨蛋體育場) should be built on the Sungshan Tobacco Factory (松山菸廠) site or not was a question hotly debated yesterday at the weekly meeting of the Taipei City Government's heads of department.
The Taipei City Bureau of Cultural Affairs had planned to develop the tobacco factory site into a cultural heritage site.
"[The Cabinet] finds that there's no possibility that a spot of historic importance and a domed stadium can co-exist," government spokesman Su Tzen-ping (蘇正平) said at a press conference yesterday, citing a report prepared by Minister Without Portfolio Chen Chin-huang (陳錦煌), who is supervising the project.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), on Monday blamed the Cabinet for having failed to facilitate the project's land acquisition during the past year. However, Su yesterday flatly rejected Ma's accusation, saying that "the Cabinet is still waiting for the Taipei City Government's evaluation report before finalizing a decision."
According to Minister Chen, Su said that the city government has failed to act on a ruling reached at a meeting on Feb. 15, which said that the city government should carefully evaluate the project's feasibility if it was to be located near Sungshan domestic airport and then brief the Cabinet after flight heights and related issues were addressed.
However, on May 30 the Taipei City Bureau of Cultural Affairs announced its intention to build a cultural heritage park on the site, Su said.
"At the Cabinet discussions, the premier instructed Mayor Ma to submit the evaluation report within two months so that the project's construction can be started soon," Su said, adding that the premier insisted that the Cabinet has long supported the plan to build a large-scale stadium in Taipei.
According to Su, Ma responded by promising to submit the required report before the deadline at the Cabinet meeting yesterday.
Ma, however, later told reporters that he believed that it is more important for the Cabinet to discuss how the stadium should be built instead of where it should be built.
"The Cabinet should throw its support behind the city government to start the stadium's construction soon, rather than leaving the project's location in doubt," Ma said.
The project was initiated by then Taipei Mayor Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) years ago, who planned to build a sports stadium in Taipei large enough to accommodate at least 40,000 spectators.
The project was brought up again after Taipei successfully hosted the International Baseball World Cup over the past two weeks.
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
MISSILE MISSION: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology said it does not make policy, but would be glad to obtain certification to assemble the missiles The Ministry of National Defense-affiliated Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is in the process of getting certified to assemble an additional 1,985 Stinger missiles on top of those from US arms sales, a senior defense official said yesterday. Washington is to send a team to Taiwan to evaluate the institute’s manufacturing capabilities and information security, said the official, who commented on condition of anonymity. The ministry initially bought 500 missiles for the army and navy, but later increased the order to 2,485 in response to an increase in Beijing’s military activities around the nation, and to meet the army’s urgent need
RSS