Pledging to work within the guidelines of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Healthy Cities Project, the Taipei City Government yesterday announced a series of strategies to promote good health, including a zero-waste target, completion of construction of the MRT and better water resources.
In the latest effort to promote Taipei's own version of the project, a team of project officials led by Taipei Deputy Mayor King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) held a press conference to promote the project and invite the public to work with them to build a healthier Taipei.
Also in attendance, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"London won the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic bid with a proposal highlighting zero waste and low carbon and bringing long-term environmental and social benefits to the city long after the games' end," Ma said. "With more cities becoming environmentally conscious, it is our goal to develop Taipei as an international city that is not only technologically but also environmentally developed."
The WHO argued in 1984 that promoting good health involved enhancing the ability of the public to take control of the process. It said that the improvement of the community environment, the cultivation of civic rights and the stimulation of participation and effective investment should be emphasized to maintain and promote the health of communities.
The Healthy Cities Project, which contains five strategies described in the WHO Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion in 1986, intends for cities to formulate healthy civic policies, create supportive environments, strengthen community action, develop skills of individuals and adjust the orientation of health services.
To boost Taipei's claim to being a healthy city, the city government is introducing a target of "zero waste" through recycling and reuse of garbage, and hopes to reduce the overall amount of garbage to 53 percent of the present amount by 2010.
In addition, the city is working on upgrading drainage and sewage systems. With the home-connection rate to the sewage network expected to reach 73 percent this year, the improvements will hopefully increase water resources, officials said.
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