Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that Taipei has more than 90,000 buildings that are 30 years or older, and the city has approved 43 reconstruction projects under the Statute for Expediting Reconstruction of Urban Unsafe and Old Buildings (都市危險及老舊建築物加速重建條例).
The statute was promulgated in May 2017, to expedite the reconstruction of unsafe and old buildings to improve citizens’ living conditions and prevent disasters.
Ko attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the first project at Changan E Road Sec 1 in Taipei yesterday morning.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The old building that used to be on the site was a 47-year-old two-story apartment, he said.
The new building design has acquired the Green Building Label and the Intelligent Building Label, and has been certified as a barrier-free environment that can withstand earthquakes, Ko said, adding that it would be 10-story apartment building with an elevator.
“There are more than 90,000 buildings in Taipei that are 30 years or older, and should be reconstructed according to the statute in the next decade,” Ko said.
The population of people aged 65 and over would account for more than 20 percent of Taipei’s total population in four years, so having old buildings without elevators is not practical, he said, adding that many buildings built before the 921 Earthquake in 1999 are more vulnerable to earthquakes.
The Taipei City Government has received 92 submissions for reconstruction projects under the statute and 43 projects have been approved — the most in the nation, Ko said.
Separately, asked to comment on a new Facebook group for “Ko fans who have turned into Ko haters,” especially for people who are unsatisfied with Ko’s remarks on cross-strait relations, Ko said he would never pass “the exam on cross-strait relations,” no matter how many times he takes the “exam.”
On Monday, Ko said he feels like “an ant” compared with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential hopeful, describing them as “two large golden cows.”
Asked yesterday to explain his remarks, Ko said: “Tsai and Guo have unlimited resources, but while many people have urged me to run for president, how can I without buying advertisements?”
He ran only against “one golden cow” — the KMT’s Sean Lien (連勝文) — in the mayoral election in 2014, but he would have to compete against two if he ran for president next year, which is bound to be more difficult, Ko said.
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