Taipei will reconsider building height restrictions around Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, a building rooted in the nation’s authoritarian past, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
“While [the memorial’s] background lies in an authoritarian past, there is no need to continue considering that factor. Consideration should be made purely upon the perspective of the city’s landscape and skyline,” Ko said.
He said the change would be implemented as part of a “overall re-examination” of land zoning in the Zhongzheng District (中正), where the memorial is located.
The mayor also reiterated his desire to move central government buildings out of the city center to reduce their impact on traffic.
The memorial was the tallest structure in Taipei when it was completed 1980. It was built to honor former president and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) director-general Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), and Taipei City Government regulations restricted the height of any structure within 50m of the memorial.
Building height is normally set by based on the “volume” permissible considering the area of a structure’s base, with adjustments possible in light of zoning considerations.
Ho Kuo-jung (何國榮) — warden of Xinying Borough (新營), which is next to the CKS memorial — said that the city government’s restrictions barring construction of buildings near the memorial taller than 53m kept valuable roadside real estate next from being fully developed.
They also hinder urban renewal plans for the Xinrong (新榮) Public Housing Complex, Ho said.
Ye Chia-yuan (葉家源), head of the Taipei Department of Urban Development’s planning division, said that special height zones exist around the memorial, the National Sun Yat-sen Memorial and the Presidential Office Building to protect skyline views.
Such restrictions were common in newly developed city districts as means of protecting the “public resource” of skylines, he said.
No date has been set for a review of Zhongzheng District zoning rules, he said.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS