The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that it is planning to allow the public to visit the Taipei Guest House, a grand, baroque-style building that is used for state receptions.
Ministry Spokesperson Michel Lu (
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES
Ting, who plans to run in the year-end Taipei mayoral election, said the Taipei Guest House, which has been the venue for state receptions for foreign dignitaries since the KMT era, should not be regarded as the "backyard garden" for a few privileged people.
He demanded the government open the building to the public.
Lu said the building is designated as a national historic site and is registered under the Presidential Office.
"The ministry and the Presidential Office have reached an agreement to open the Taipei Guest House to public visits. Right now we're waiting for the Presidential Office to make a final assessment on the scheme," Lu said.
The Taipei Guest House was built in 1901 during the Japanese colonial era as the residence of Taiwan's governor .
At present, only five top officials -- the president, vice president, premier, presidential chief of staff and the foreign minister -- are allowed to use the building for receptions.
The Taipei Guest House and grounds cover 3.4 hectares. It is located on Ketagalan Boulevard, across the street from the foreign ministry.
The issue of access to the building and abuse of privilege was in the spotlight recently after a couple of Presidential Office interns were able to enter the building to have their wedding photographs taken.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
RSS