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.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost