Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday called her opponents’ proposals to lower rent for public housing “shortsighted.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) on Sunday announced his public housing policies, which include establishing 57,000 public housing units, reducing rent by 10 percent and offering a NT$1,500 monthly rent subsidy.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), who is the KMT’s mayoral candidate, last week said that married couples who have at least two children should receive priority consideration for public housing and be offered a 20 percent discount.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Huang, who resigned as Taipei deputy mayor on Saturday and announced her candidacy the following day, on Monday said that public housing should be operated sustainably.
While “giving out money or reducing rent is the easiest” method, it would bankrupt public housing, she said.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), head of the policy research task force in Chen’s campaign, on Monday evening on Facebook denied Huang’s claim, and called on her to explain her calculations or apologize.
Kuan questioned Huang’s contributions to housing justice in the city, writing that Taipei’s public housing policies deteriorated during the three years Huang was deputy mayor, including the suspension of public housing construction projects over the past two years.
Huang yesterday said that her opponents are not considering the costs of their proposals to reduce rent for public housing, which she called “shortsighted.”
She said that if they only focus on drumming up support and votes, while neglecting the long-term management and maintenance cost of public housing, then continuous spending would drain the budgets of other development or social programs.
The sustainable management of public housing needs fiscal planning, Huang said, adding that the housing fund should be self-liquidating, so rent subsidies should only be offered to underprivileged residents.
‘FRIENDSHIP FLEET’: A CGA official is scheduled to meet with the president of the Pacific nation, while one of the ships is to host a banquet and National Day event Two Coast Guard Administration (CGA) patrol vessels have docked at Malakal Harbor in Palau as part of an expedition exercise and diplomatic visit, during which a senior official is expected to meet with Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr, the agency said yesterday. The two vessels, the 4,000-tonne-class Chiayi and the 1,000-tonne-class Penghu, set sail for Palau from Taiwan last week and arrived on Tuesday at Malakal Harbor, the CGA’s Fleet Branch said in a statement. The journey marks the second time the CGA has dispatched a “friendship fleet” to another country, after it sent its first-ever goodwill fleet, comprising the Hualien and
Two executives of drone supplier Jiin Ming Industry Co (錦明實業) have been detained and held incommunicado over the company's alleged use of prohibited China-made chips and camera lenses in drones supplied under recent military contracts, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors' Office said today. In a statement, prosecutors said they raided the offices of Jiin Ming — headquartered in Taoyuan — as well as those of its subsidiaries and its suppliers on Thursday last week. The raids followed a report that the company had breached its procurement contracts by putting the prohibited components into drones delivered to the military. During the raids, prosecutors summoned
South Korean boy band BigBang drew 120,000 fans to three concerts at Taipei Dome from Friday through yesterday, as the band thanked them for their support over their 20-year career. The Taipei Dome concerts were part of BigBang's "2026-2027 World Tour XX: Cosmos." Friday's concert was BigBang's first performance in Taiwan in 11 years. During the encore, group leader G-Dragon (GD) shouted "I love you" in Chinese and said he was especially happy to perform in Taiwan with bandmates Taeyang and Daesung. "Taipei, I'm very grateful to you all," GD said in Chinese, asking fans to wait for the band's return. Daesung thanked
DETAILED PLAN NEEDED: Relocating the airport would affect not just travelers, but also undermine national defense and emergency medical services, a legislator said Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday proposed relocating Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and turning the site into an artificial intelligence (AI) park, drawing opposition from politicians across party lines. Chiang’s plan would turn the 300 hectares into an AI park featuring tech clusters, residential communities and green space. The industrial cluster would host 200 domestic enterprises, generate NT$12 trillion (US$376.47 billion) in output, and accommodate 65,000 jobs and 35,000 residents, he said. Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said the Executive Yuan was surprised by the announcement, as the Taipei City Government did not discuss the proposal with the central government before making