A cross-dike platform is among the plans for an urban renewal project in Taipei’s Datong District (大同), officials from the Taipei City Government’s Department of Urban Development said yesterday.
“Because of the reinforced concrete river dike, it is difficult for people inside [the city] to view the fine scenery outside [the river dike],” department chief engineer Chang Li-li (張立立) said. “However, if we add a platform, it would be possible to walk on it and view Guanyin Mountain (觀音山) on the opposite bank.”
He added that the planting of a garden over the platform would address the area’s lack of green space.
The design calls for an estimated NT$1.4 billion (US$44.87 million) to be spent on constructing a 1km platform from the smaller Dihua Platform south to the Taipei Bridge.
Chang added that the new platform was designed to spur urban renewal by offering new opportunities for developments that would have direct connections to the park above Huanhe N Road (環河北路).
Building projects that connect to the platform would be charged annual fees to help the city recoup construction costs, he said.
As one of Taipei’s oldest districts, construction plans in Datong are central to the city government’s plans for urban renewal, with at least three publicly managed urban renewal projects under discussion, Chang said.
In contrast to other Taipei districts, where new public housing construction is planned, the city plans to increase public housing in the Datong district mainly through leasing and refurbishing abandoned buildings, Chang said.
Details of city plans are tentative pending a public hearing with local residents on July 25, he said.
Guoshun Borough (國順) Warden Chen Ying-hui (陳穎慧) said that in principle she fully supports city-sponsored urban renewal and the platform construction plans, but she is still unclear about the details.
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
RSS