Both Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) yesterday held press conferences to mark the one-year anniversary of the merger of their respective administrative regions, while in Taipei City, Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) celebrated his fifth anniversary in office.
The number of special municipalities jumped from two — Taipei City and Kaohsiung City — to five — home to 60 percent of the nation’s population — on Dec. 26 last year.
In addition to Taipei City and New Taipei City (新北市, the upgraded Taipei County), the other three areas were expanded through a merger of two administrative districts: Greater Taichung is the result of a merger of Taichung city and Taichung county; Greater Tainan is a merger of Tainan city and Tainan county; and Greater Kaohsiung is a merger of Kaohsiung city and Kaohsiung county.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Chen and other members of the Greater Kaohsiung government thanked the people of Kaohsiung yesterday for their support during the past year.
“We would like to thank the understanding of the residents of Greater Kaohisung during the past year while we worked to overcome the difficulties of the merger and raise Greater Kaohisung’s competitive edge,” she said.
Citing an increase in the budget for social benefits, additional buses and the escalation of productivity in Kaohsiung’s tourism industry as proof of the past year’s political achievements, Chen added that the Kaohisung City Government had already put into action the “Asia New Bay Area” project, which includes the construction of an exhibition center, a culture and music center, the Kaohsiung Port Terminal and a sea-side light rail.
The construction projects would be finished within three years and in tandem with the Pier 2 Arts Center, they would not only create new job opportunities, but also lay the groundwork for the city’s transformation.
Meanwhile, in Greater Tainan, Lai announced the commencement of a new city administrative center project.
As a result of the merger of Tainan county and city, Lai had to travel between the original Tainan county government located in Sinying District (新營) and the Tainan city government located in the Anping district (安平) throughout the year to manage the city.
The municipalities’ new administrative center must be large in order to help grow the area and attract helping hands for its development, Lai said
However, Lai said the timing and location of the new center has not been determine yer and there was need for more evaluations and planning on the specific details.
In Taipei, Hau pledged his determination to build Taipei as a energetic city through his policies on public housing, childbirth subsidies and a free wireless service aimed at supporting young people.
Hau, who was re-elected last year, defended his administration’s efforts to successfully improve the water quality of Tamsui River (淡水河), a major campaign policy during his first term, and raising the city’s international profile by holding large international events, such as the Deaflympics and the Taipei International Flora Expo.
In the next three years, Hau said his administration would address issues concerning the city’s young people by continuing major policy initiatives, including the construction of public housing units, offering childbirth subsidies to married couples and providing zero-interest loans for people under 40 who are preparing to start their own businesses.
Having obtained the rights to host the Summer Universiade in 2017, Hau said his administration would spare no efforts to list baseball as an official competitive sport in the game.
The city would also expand the scope of its free wireless service in public area, he added.
A free exhibition aimed at teaching the public about air-raid shelters and basic emergency personal protection skills today opened on the concourse level of the Taipei MRT's Ximen Station. The event, organized by the National Police Agency, aims to raise awareness about disaster preparedness ahead of nationwide air raid drills scheduled from July 15 to 18, which are part of broader urban resilience exercises. The exhibition outlines the recommended actions people should take depending on whether they are indoors, commuting or outdoors when air-raid sirens sound. It also teaches people how to equip air-raid shelters and pack emergency "go bags," with displays
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
An electric bus charging facility at Taipei Metro’s Beitou Depot officially opened yesterday with 22 charging bays to serve the city’s 886 electric buses. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told a ceremony to mark the opening of the facility that the city aims to fully electrify its bus fleet by 2030. The number of electric buses has grown from about 650 last year to 886 this year and is expected to surpass 1,000 by the end of the year, Chiang said. Setting up the charging station in a metro depot optimizes land and energy use, as the metro uses power mainly during the
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
RSS