The issue of relocating the Legislative Yuan (LY) out of Taipei remains a hot topic even a decade after it was first proposed, with Taichung the most popular among the proposed locations, legislators said.
Other proposed locations include New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城), Changhua County’s Tianjhong Township (田中) and Yilan County.
Locations in Taipei have also been suggested, including the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the 202 Munitions Works in Nangang District (南港).
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The Legislative Yuan was moved to Taiwan following the Chinese Civil War, and held its first session in Taiwan in Taipei’s Zhongshan Hall before moving to its current location on Zhongshan S Road in 1960.
The Legislative Yuan building was a girls’ high school during the Japanese colonial era, and the legislature’s administrative offices are in what used to be its dormitory.
Over the years, additional buildings were rented or built in the surrounding area, giving the complex a disjointed feel.
In 2012, then-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) proposed moving the legislature to Taichung.
The proposal has since been reiterated by other politicians, including Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), DPP Legislator Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書), Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and Vice President William Lai (賴清德) during his premiership in 2018.
Yang has said that moving the legislature would help spur development in a new location, and has suggested the Chenggong Ling (成功嶺) military training camp in Taichung’s Wujih District (烏日) or the Taiwan Provincial Assembly Memorial Park in the city’s Wufeng District (霧峰).
The Changhua County Government has also pushed for the legislature to be moved to either Tianjhong or Shetou Township (社頭).
Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) has proposed relocating to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, arguing that such a move would help realize the nation’s transitional justice goals, while solving residents’ concerns about land use at the legislature’s current site.
The hall would also be more aesthetic than the current complex, he said.
DPP Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) has proposed moving to the 202 Munitions Works, saying that it would provide adequate space and that its proximity to Nangang Railway Station would make it a more convenient location.
DPP Legislator Wu Chi-ming (吳琪銘) said that the previous site of the Taipei Detention Center in New Taipei City’s Tucheng should also be considered, given that it would offer a large amount of space.
DPP Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀), on the other hand, has said that a move to Yilan would spur development there, and make it easier for the military to protect the legislature in the event of an attack.
National Taipei University College of Public Affairs assistant professor Hong Wei-sheng (洪偉勝) on Saturday said that Taichung would be the most viable place to move to, in terms of national land planning.
However, such a move would make it expensive for officials to report to the legislature, he said, adding that if the Legislative Yuan moved to Taichung, then the Executive Yuan should relocate to Nantou County’s Jhongsing New Village (中興新村).
Tamkang University Department of Public Administration professor Chen Ming-siang (陳銘祥) echoed Hong’s argument that only a comprehensive move of different government facilities would make sense.
However, in most countries, central government facilities are located in a capital city, he said.
National Taiwan University Department of Political Science associate professor Peng Chin-peng (彭錦鵬) said that the legislature has never been moved, despite lengthy discussion on the issue, due to issues over whether Taiwan is a presidential system of government.
Legislators also lack determination on the issue, he added.
“If Taiwan’s current constitutional system is to be maintained, then it really is not necessary to move the legislature. The current complex could be rebuilt if space is a concern,” he said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS