The New Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems yesterday urged the Executive Yuan to approve a proposed MRT line connecting Sijhih District (汐止) and Taipei’s Donghu (東湖) area to get the project moving.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) earlier in the day visited Sijhih to hear a report on plans for the line.
While there, he thanked former minister of transportation and communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) for facilitating the plan and incumbent minister Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) for taking over the project.
Photo: CNA
“Thanks to the understanding and cooperation of the mayors of Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung, we have made some progress today,” he said.
The department said in a news release yesterday that the transport ministry preliminarily approved the plan for the Sijhih-Donghu Line in March and the city government submitted a revised plan in May to the Executive Yuan for review.
The New Taipei City Government has allocated a budget of NT$20.5 billion (US$684.47 million), including NT$2.9 billion which should be paid back by the Taipei City Government, while the central government is to provide NT$5.8 billion for the project, it said.
The line can improve transportation problems in Keelung, and share stations and the Shekou terminal with the Keelung MRT Line, it said, adding that the government hoped the Cabinet could approve the plan as soon as possible.
Lin, who is the Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate for New Taipei City mayor, on Facebook yesterday thanked the premier for announcing in February that the government would prioritize the construction of the Sijhih-Donghu Line.
Sijhih is an important intersection connecting Keelung and Taipei, he said, adding that local residents and commuters all suffer from the postponement of the line’s construction.
While the originally proposed MRT Minsheng-Sijhih Line was postponed for years, as the Taipei City Government prioritized the Metro circular line, the Sijhih-Donghu Line made no progress., he said.
While serving as transport minister, he found that the overlap between the Keelung MRT Line and the Minsheng-Sijhih Line made it difficult for all parties involved to reach a consensus, he said.
He thus established a communication platform in 2020, inviting Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) to meet and discuss the project, he added.
The efforts resulted in the integration of the east side of the Minsheng-Sijhih Line — which has been named the Sijhih-Donghu Line — and the Keelung MRT Line, he said, adding that this would benefit nearly 1 million residents in Keelung, Sijhih and Taipei’s Neihu (內湖) and Nangang (南港) district.
The planned Sijhih-Donghu Line can connect the Wenhu Line (文湖線) and Bannan Line (板南線) to further facilitate transportation in the Taipei metropolitan area, as well as stimulate the development of Keelung and Sijhih, he added.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
RSS