Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors yesterday lauded what they described as “progress” in Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) oral policy performance report, after having said an earlier written version lacked substance.
“The report is already more concrete and complete than the draft provided last week,” Taipei City Council DPP caucus whip Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said.
She said the event was meant to serve as a “warmup” for Ko before facing questions from the full city council next week, adding that the mayor earned an “A-” for his efforts.
She also reiterated that while the party is amenable to cooperate with the city government on policies, the DPP would not serve as Ko’s “cheerleading squad.”
Prior to Ko’s report, DPP Taipei City Councilor Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) set the meeting’s tone by posting a sign calling for the “free airing of views” — an explicit reference to a sign calling for a “room of harmony” (一堂和氣) that is posted in the heart of the city government’s mayoral office suite.
“This is the DPP caucus — not a city government meeting,” Wang said. “Do not try to bring your rules to the city council; we make our own rules.”
Ko’s presentation laid out a broad range of policies aimed at improving efficiency, increasing civic participation and fostering economic development — from demolishing illegal constructions and implementing new fees for YouBike rentals to the establishment of a Clean Government Committee.
New content set Ko’s report apart from a paper version that was submitted to city councilors last week. The paper report was criticized for failing to mention substantial new policies distinguishing Ko from the administration of former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌).
The Taipei City Council Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus Secretary-General Chen Yung-te (陳永德) said that while Ko would be invited to greet party members when next week’s council session opens, the caucus felt it unnecessary to hear the mayor’s policy performance report early.
Separately, Ko confirmed reports that he would invite former Taoyuan county commissioner John Wu (吳志揚) of the KMT to serve as a city government consultant.
“Whether Taipei should establish its own professional baseball team is something that deserves consideration — so there is a role [Wu] can play,” Ko said.
After losing his re-election bid last year, Wu has taken a new position as president of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
SPEEDING ELETRIC VEHICLES: Available without license requirements, the low-cost vehicles, especially if illicitly modified, can often reach a dangerous speed The government should crack down on illegal electric bicycles and scooters, the non-profit Consumers’ Foundation said on Friday, citing research on the potentially dangerous speed of the vehicles. Electric bicycles and lightweight electric scooters have gained popularity as they do not require registration and riders do not need licenses, the foundation said, adding that as many as 40 percent of them can reach speeds exceeding the legal limit of 25kph for non-licensed two-wheelers. Some consumers also purchased legal electric vehicles and modified them to reach higher speeds, it said. “If the government does not step up efforts to confiscate these
DIPLOMATIC MOVES: Beijing is reportedly pressing the state after reports of forming links with Taiwan, while the ministry is also planning to reopen its office in Guam soon A representative office is set to open in Somaliland at the end of this month, at the earliest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday amid reports that Beijing is sending a diplomatic delegation to the east African country. The ministry on July 1 announced that Taiwan and Somaliland would establish representative offices, following a report by the Somaliland Chronicle Web site. It said at the time that the two nations did not plan to establish formal ties. Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi has instructed close confidants to explore the possibility of “mutual recognition between Taiwan and Somaliland,” the Somaliland Chronicle reported
A Belgian man who tested positive for COVID-19 in Taiwan last week is likely to have contracted the disease in Taipei in late June, National Taiwan University (NTU) College of Public Health vice dean Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said yesterday. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Saturday reported that the man, who is in his 20s, came to Taiwan for work on May 3 and tested positive on Wednesday last week as he was about to depart. The man in March reported loss of taste and smell, the center said, adding that he worked in Changhua County, but visited Taipei several times,
NEW CASE REPORTED: A man who returned from South Africa on a flight with the nation’s 460th and 461st cases has now tested positive for the disease The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that there is no need to test all arrivals to the nation for COVID-19, a policy the Executive Yuan supports. The center reported one new imported case, bringing the nation’s tally of confirmed cases to 477. The new case is a Taiwanese man in his 60s who on July 25 returned from South Africa, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is also the CECC’s spokesman. The man had returned to Taiwan on the same flight as cases Nos. 460 and 461, reported on July 27, Chuang said. On July 24,
RSS