An official with the New York-based Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation refused to comment on Thursday on a decision by the Taichung City Council to postpone a long-discussed project to build a Guggenheim museum branch.
The council began a two-day screening session on Wednesday and was expected to come to a decision the following day, but because many councilors felt that some provisions of the proposed agreement were unfair, Council Speaker Chang Hung-nien (
Chang also said that the city council would ask Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (
No Comment
A staff member at the office of Thomas Krens, executive director of the Guggenheim Found-ation, said the foundation was not willing to comment on the matter.
Asked whether Hu had contacted Krens to discuss the latest demand by city councilors that the draft agreement be amended, the staffer said that even if there were such contact, it was confidential.
The development of a Tai-chung branch has been in the works for some time -- Hu made it one of his major campaign platforms when he ran for mayor in 2002.
Long Delay
Hu went to New York last month to discuss ways of boosting the long-delayed project, which has been plagued by financing problems, after the central government promised on Aug. 31 to earmark NT$2 billion (US$58.99 million) in next year's budget to help finance it.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was founded in 1937. Its primary accomplishment has been the construction of museums in New York, Venice, Bilbao, Berlin and Las Vegas.
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