Taipei city councilors yesterday voted to reinstate in full the monetary gifts issued to retired city government officials on three national holidays.
Following marathon cross-party negotiations on Thursday that continued until yesterday afternoon, the city councilors took unresolved budgetary items to a plenary session for a vote.
A proposal to retain the NT$2,000 monetary gifts issued to former city government employees at the Lunar New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays — which Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had proposed halving — was passed, with 34 voting for the NT$150 million (US$4.5 million) budget and 27 against.
Meanwhile, a vote regarding a much-debated second reserve fund, for which Ko had requested a record-high NT$1.5 billion, saw the proposal tendered by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus to trim the fund to NT$950 million defeated by a thin margin of five votes. As a result, a NT$1.25 billion figure put forward by the Democratic Progressive Party caucus, independent city councilors and their counterparts from smaller political parties was passed.
However, a budget request of NT$12 million for the UN Habitat forum, which Taipei won a bid to host, was rejected. The denial came just a day after Ko pleaded with city councilors to pass it, saying the event would help boost Taiwan’s international space.
Only 22 city councilors voted in favor of the forum’s budget, while five abstained.
Also deleted was a NT$13 million budget for the 2050 Vision project, which involved a panel of 19 academics and private-sector professionals fine-tuning the city’s urban planning projects, with 33 city councilors voting against it and five abstaining.
Meanwhile, a special project concerning a water price increase was passed by the council.
The proposal for a NT$1.3 increase per tonne of water consumed by entities using between 20 tonnes and 60 tonnes of water each month was cut to NT$1, while a proposal to raise the price to NT$9 per tonne for entities using between 61 tonnes and 200 tonnes of water per month was trimmed to NT$8.5.
Taiwan yesterday expelled four China Coast Guard vessels that entered Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off Lienchiang County (Matsu) shortly after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced the start of its “Joint Sword-2024B” drills around Taiwan. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a statement that it had detected two China Coast Guard ships west of Nangan Island (南竿) and another two north of Dongyin Island (東引) at 8am yesterday. After Chinese ships sailed into restricted waters off Matsu shortly afterward, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch deployed four patrol vessels to shadow and approach the vessels, it said. The incidents pushed up to 44 the number
Renovations on the B3 concourse of Taipei Main Station are to begin on Nov. 1, with travelers advised to use entrances near the Taiwan Railway or high-speed rail platforms or information counter to access the MRT’s Red Line. Construction is to be completed before the end of next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said last week. To reduce the impact on travelers, the NT$95 million (US$2.95 million) project is to be completed in four stages, it said. In the first stage, the hall leading to the Blue Line near the art exhibition area is to be closed from Nov. 1 to the end
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
The government has issued a deportation order for a Spanish fugitive, ordering him to leave the country within 10 days, as he is wanted by European authorities for allegedly operating a car rental scam. National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials yesterday said Salvador Alejandro Llinas Onate, 48, had been notified that he must leave Taiwan, as he was wanted for committing serious crimes. The Spaniard has been indicted by Italian prosecutors for allegedly leading a 30 million euros (US$32.74 million) car rental scam and setting up a fraudulent company in Trento, Italy. The deportation order is based on Article 18 of
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