The Legislative Yuan on Friday amended the Local Government Act (地方制度法), lowering the population threshold for new county-administered cities to 100,000 from 150,000.
Because the title change does not affect a township’s budget or staffing quota, some academics said that without distributing more resources, the amendment is meant only to sway voters, who would not benefit.
With the amendment, Changhua County’s Yuanlin Township (員林) and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份), which meet the threshold, are expected to be renamed. Hsinchu County’s Chutung Township (竹東), Changhua County’s Hemei Township (和美) and Nantou County’s Caotun Township (草屯), with more than 90,000 people, could potentially be renamed.
Ministry of the Interior Director of Civil Affairs Lin Ching-chi (林清淇) said that since townships and county-administered cities have the same legal rank under the act, financing and personnel quotas for a township that becomes a county-administered city remain the same, but the administrative costs of national identification and address plate-reissuance shift to the county government.
A Ministry of Finance official added that the Regulations for Allocation of Centrally Funded Tax Revenues (中央統籌分配稅款分配辦法) stipulate that 61.76 percent of total tax revenues is allocated to special municipalities, 24 percent goes to counties or cities and 8.24 percent is for townships, so becoming a county-administered city does not increase a township’s budget.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月), who proposed the amendment, said Yuanlin is a major township in the county, with a population of 120,000, but had not been able to become a county-administered city, to the disappointment of many locals.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Cheng Ru-fen (鄭汝芬) said the designation has long been an aspiration of residents.
“It is a kind of honor,” said Cheng, adding that it could also help narrow north-south development disparities.
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)
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
Rallies supporting recall efforts targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers as well as a rally organized by the KMT opposing the recall campaigns are to take place in Taipei today. Traffic controls were in place on Taipei City Hall Road starting from 10pm last night, and would be in place on Jinan Road Sec 1 from 8am today, police said. Recall campaign groups in Taipei and New Taipei City advocating the recall of KMT legislators, along with the “Safeguard Taiwan Anti-Communist Alliance” have announced plans for motorcycle parades and public rallies in both cities today. Permission has been granted for campaigners to hold
M1A2T ABRAMS TANKS: Thirty-eight of the 108 armored vehicles were delivered in December last year, with the rest to be delivered between later this year and next year The military is to live stream a round of live-fire training sessions on Thursday featuring its newly delivered M1A2T Abrams tanks, allowing the public to witness the training results firsthand, the Ministry of National Defense said. Based on the ministry’s plan, the live-fire training session, scheduled to take place at an army tank training ground in the Kengzihkou (坑子口) area of Hsinchu County, is to feature the US-made armored vehicles firing their 120mm smoothbore guns at moving and stationary targets, while stationary or in motion. At least one senior government official is expected to preside over the round of training sessions, per
RSS