Taipei City councilors on Tuesday proposed additional subsidies to encourage the demolition and reconstruction of buildings in the city made using concrete that contains sea sand.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The use of sea sand in construction “will accelerate rebar corrosion and result in flaking of the concrete in blocks, severely damaging the building’s structure” in the long term, the city government’s Web site says.
The city currently offers a subsidy of NT$200,000 per household within a building, toward the cost of demolishing structurally unsound buildings.
If passed, the proposal would add an additional subsidy of NT$600,000 per household toward the cost of structural-safety appraisals, which could be implemented as soon as next month using an NT$6 million special budget, Department of Urban Development head Wang Yu-fen (王玉芬) said during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
The subsidies would also be included in the city’s annual budget starting next year, if passed, she said.
Chinese Nationalist Party Taipei City Councilor Wang Chih-bin (汪志冰) proposed the appraisal subsidy, saying it would encourage those living in high-risk buildings to take action to protect their safety.
There are currently 96 buildings in the city that were built using concrete containing sea sand, she said, adding that many buildings go unappraised due to the high costs involved, and the lack of consensus on appraisal and reconstruction among building residents.
A large contributor toward that lack of consensus is that many older buildings lack a management office, and residents must share the cost of building appraisals between themselves, Independent Taipei City Councilor Chen Cheng-chung (陳政忠) said.
Chen also suggested that the budget for the appraisal subsidy should be doubled to NT$12 million starting next year.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
Japanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.” Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. He was elected to the House of Concilors last year. His views on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — espoused in a series of books on politics and history — prompted Beijing to sanction him, including barring Seki from traveling to China. Seki wrote on X that he intends
RSS