Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday acknowledged that he told a member of his staff to leave a message on Yilan County Acting Commissioner Derek Chen’s (陳金德) Facebook fan page in response to a remark by Chen regarding Taipei City’s illegal construction problem.
The construction of illegal structures has increased rapidly across Yilan County’s farmlands over the past few years. Since the completion of the Hsuehshan Tunnel (雪山隧道) in 2006, the number of farmhouses in Yilan has reached more than 8,500 units, with more than 70 percent of them being illegal.
In an interview with the Chinese-language News & Market Web site on Nov. 23, Chen said: “Do you know how many illegally constructed units there are in Taipei City? I guess there are more than 100,000 units. But has Ko-P [Ko’s nickname] demolished them?”
The construction of illegal buildings in Taipei City is not even punished by imposing a fine, Chen said, adding that “if 1 percent of the illegally constructed units have been demolished, then I will tear down the illegally constructed units [in Yilan] for you to see.”
Ko on Thursday said Chen has “hit a snag for speaking too hastily” because Taipei has demolished more than 3 percent of the city’s illegally constructed units in one year.
Ko’s staff member, Lin Kun-feng (林昆鋒), also left a message on Chen’s Facebook fan page, which read “if you have difficulties, you can find other excuses next time” and “the problem with illegal construction is your problem, acting commissioner Chen.”
The message evoked suspicion as to whether Ko was behind Lin’s behavior.
While visiting the Taipei School for the Visually Impaired yesterday morning, Ko, in response to media queries, laughingly said that he knew about the incident, adding: “I’ve been reviewing my own actions too — I sometimes think that political figures shouldn’t be overconfident and exaggerate because we might hit a snag one day.”
Chen left a message in response to Lin’s post, saying “I accept your ridicule, but I still believe that while there are regulations that can punish them, the government shouldn’t infringe on people’s property rights — tearing them down will not solve Taiwan’s agricultural problems.”
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
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