The former office building of the Chinese-language United Daily News Group on Zhongxiao E Road was turned into a park last year, becoming a recreational spot for many of the area’s residents. However, the park will be replaced by a high-rise building in 2014.
An additional 72 parks around Taipei City could also be replaced by buildings under the “Taipei Beautiful” program, the Taipei City Government’s urban renewal project to beautify the city for the Taipei International Flora Expo, which concluded on Monday.
Under the program, owners of old buildings located within 500m of major tourist attractions and transportation hubs who agreed to turn the buildings into green spaces for 18 months are now eligible for a “bulk reward” of an extra 3 percent to 10 percent of their initial land size when they develop the site in the wake of the expo.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) yesterday accused the city government of profiting conglomerates and contributing to skyrocketing housing prices.
Kao said the city would create more than 20,000 ping (66,000m2) of land for the 73 urban renewal applicants, with potential profits totaling more than NT$12 billion (US$390 million) when the bulk reward of up to 10 percent is included.
Huang Jui-mao (黃瑞茂), board chairman of OURs, a non-profit organization that combats speculation and urban renewal projects that benefit private investors, described the program as a fraud that profited private investors and urged the city government not to sacrifice green space for the sake of gains for a few investors.
“The extra land covered by the bulk reward is a public resource, not private property, and the city government should not use it as a gift to conglomerates,” he said.
However, Chang Wen-te (張溫德), chief engineer at the Taipei City Urban Redevelopment Office, said the program aimed to improve the city’s appearance by encouraging private landowners to demolish old buildings, adding that it would be difficult to achieve this goal if the city government did not offer incentives.
The urban renewal committee would carefully review each of the 73 renewal cases before determining the percentage of extra land applicants would be granted, he said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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