Vice President Annette Lu (
"Taiwan has special municipalities, provincial municipalities and county municipalities, which is essentially a `one country, three systems,' policy. [Besides looking at the special municipalities], whether the status of provincial municipalities should even exist should also be discussed," Lu said in a speech to the Asia Pacific Planing and Management conference in Taoyuan County yesterday morning.
Lu emphasized that the proposed reorganization is not politically charged, reacting to Taipei City Government accusations that the proposal is designed to reduce the political stature of Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in the run-up to the year-end mayoral elections.
Since the effective abolition of the provincial government in 1998, all local governments, including the special municipalities of Taipei and Kaohsiung, have reported to the central government in a two-tiered executive system consisting only of central, county and city governments.
City and county governments -- formerly subordinate to the provincial government -- had voiced demands prior to the provincial government's demise for equal status with the special municipalities. Having not been granted that wish, they have since 1998 fought for financial resources, such as their shares of the Tax Redistribution Fund (統籌分配款), to be made more equal with those of the special municipalities.
The special municipalities receive their revenue from the central government.
To solve the dispute, the ministry on Wednesday held a seminar to discuss how to reform the local government system. The ministry hopes to come up with a proposal which would equalize the status of the special municipalities and local governments.
It would also cancel elections for township chiefs, village representatives and borough-wardens.
Meanwhile, the ministry on Wednesday released a draft bill entitled the Administrative District Division Law (
Article 108 of the ROC Constitution empowers the central government to redraw local government boundaries.
Chang Yuan-hsu (
Under the current system, Taiwan is divided into 23 local governments, including Taipei and Kaohsiung cities.
Though the ministry maintains its intent to reform the system would not downgrade the status of Taipei City or Kaohsiung City, Taipei City Government officials continued to attack the idea yesterday.
"The DPP's worries that it isn't going to be competitive enough in the [Taipei mayoral] election have prompted it to downgrade Mayor Ma's status and power," said Ting Shou-chung (
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
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