Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said he would stay in close contact with the city government and its emergency response center about tropical storms in the region while on an 11-day trip to the US.
Chiang, who was last night scheduled to depart on a trip to New York, Boston and Philadelphia, yesterday morning attended a preparation meeting at the Taipei Emergency Response Center to discuss the possible effects of Typhoon Yagi and other tropical depressions on Taipei.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that Yagi is unlikely to directly affect Taiwan, but tropical depressions might form this week and next week, so Taipei should stay alert, Chiang said.
Photo: Liang Cheng-hui, Taipei Times
The city government reviews disaster relief operations after every typhoon to improve efficiency in disasters, he said.
As the Taipei Public Works Department’s Parks and Street Lights Office has assessed areas prone to falling trees, he has asked the department to take precautionary measures as soon as possible, he said.
He said he has also asked the department to continue improvement construction projects in low-lying areas that prone to flooding, especially in Xinyi District (信義), while the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection must continue its sewer dredging operations.
Asked by reporters if he would immediately return to Taiwan if a typhoon hits Taipei, as Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) did when Typhoon Gaemi swept over Taiwan in late July, Chiang said: “We will respond immediately.”
He said he would keep close contact with the city government and the emergency response center during his trip to the US and immediately respond should an emergency situation arise.
Meanwhile, after being questioned by prosecutors, Taipei Urban Planning Commission Executive Secretary Shao Hsiu-pei (邵琇珮) was on Tuesday barred from leaving the country and restricted to her residence over her alleged role in suspected corruption linked to the Core Pacific City redevelopment project.
When asked about Shao taking a leave of absence for a week, Chiang said the city government would cooperate with prosecutors’ investigation, adding that he had adjusted her duties on Tuesday.
Reporters also asked the mayor to comment on Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧) saying that the Taipei City Government should halt the Core Pacific City project before the court makes a ruling.
Chiang said that the city government would pay close attention to the case, and if a verdict is confirmed, the government would deal with it according to the law.
He said he has asked the Taipei Department of Urban Planning to prepare contingency plans for possible outcomes.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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