Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) facilitating a construction license for the Taipei Dome project is an attempt to show that the Taipei City Government under his lead has made tangible progress in its administration of the capital, Taipei city councilors said yesterday.
The Taipei Construction Management Office on Monday approved changes made to the construction license of the Taipei Dome and said that a new license would be issued by the end of the month.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chung Pei-chun (鍾沛君) said that Ko had been elected after complaining that the Taipei Dome and other projects had been plagued by corruption and mismanagement.
Photo: CNA
“Now that Ko is on his way out, he is trying to salvage the situation and treating the project as an achievement,” Chung said.
KMT City Councilor Chang Szu-kang (張斯綱) said that Ko’s handling of the issue was a complete U-turn from his stance when he was first elected.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) said that Ko’s decision to issue a license was premature, as the issues of light pollution and the safety of students at Guangfu Elementary School remained unresolved.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) and independent Taipei City Councilor Lin Liang-jyun (林亮君) accused Ko of blatantly favoring Farglory Group, the company leading the project.
Ko said that the project has been in limbo for five years and regardless of its outcome, it would not be considered an achievement for his administration, adding that the city government was handling the issue practically.
“It [Taipei Dome] is already there and it would be impossible to tear it down at a moment’s notice,” Ko said.
The city government is to hold a news conference next week to answer all questions regarding the approval of the license, it said.
The government has not flip-flopped on the project and had been seeking a resolution under the seven public safety standards in the original proposal, Ko said.
The approval of the license means that Farglory can begin construction again, Ko said, adding that the company would still have to resolve the project’s contraventions of the Building Technical Regulations (建築技術規則).
“The license is only a part of a process that would see the Taipei Dome completed and begin operations,” Ko said.
The review of the project was conducted with utmost transparency, Ko said, and under such conditions “it would be very difficult to be openly supporting one side or another.”
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS