Initial talks were held yesterday between the Taipei City government and the operators of the Taipei New Horizon complex.
The meeting followed allegations by Taipei City councilors that the complex had strayed from its original purpose of fostering the development of the city’s creative and cultural industries, renting out most of its space to unrelated firms, while paying minimal royalties to the city.
In contrast to the past week’s breakdown in negotiations with Farglory Land Development Co (遠雄建設), which is responsible for the Taipei Dome project, yesterday’s negotiations were presented by both sides as amicable.
Photo: Taipei Times
“Today’s talks were very smooth and amicable,” Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Ni Chung-hwa (倪重華) said. “We will address the issues of royalties and the kind of firms that can rent space in the building.”
He added that more time for negotiations would be needed while the city conducts research into its plan for the broader area around the complex as well as the future development of cultural and creative industries.
Earlier yesterday, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that the city’s central concern in the negotiation was the positioning of the building within surrounding area’s wider development, rather than the monetary value of the rent and royalties paid by the managing firm to the city.
“We will basically cooperate with the city government’s proposal regarding the positioning of firms within the cultural park as well as the future development of the area,” said Alex Lee (李地華), general manager of Taipei New Horizon Development Co, which manages the site.
In contrast to Ni, he denied that negotiations had reached any consensus on the need to adjust royalties paid by the firm to the city.
Both sides said that yesterday was just an initial meeting to understand each other’s positions with future talks to follow.
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