The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it has been in talks over the potential rebuilding of the Taiwan government-owned Chinatown Cultural Plaza in Honolulu, following repeated complaints from the city’s Mayor Rick Blangiardi that the property has become a magnet for crime.
MOFA’s comments came after Blangiardi told a local newspaper on Sunday that he had pressed Taiwan’s government for months to fix problems surrounding the shopping center in Honolulu’s Chinatown, but to no avail.
Blangiardi told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the plaza, which was built in 1974 by overseas ethnic Chinese community groups and taken over by Taiwan’s government in 1979, has become “a haven for illegal activity, including arson, violent assaults, drug abuse, gambling, robberies and thefts.”
Photo: Taipei Times
He said his government has limited ability to address the issues, as the plaza is private property and foreign owned.
The mayor also said he sent a letter to President William Lai (賴清德) in March last year, urging the Taiwanese government to address decades of neglect at the complex.
However, he criticized Taiwan’s proposed plan to hire a “professional development team” to assess the plaza as “meaningless and insulting,” without elaborating.
In response, MOFA said that Taiwan’s government “attaches great importance to Mayor Blangiardi’s concerns” over the Chinatown Cultural Plaza and “has taken concrete steps to address these issues,” without providing further details.
The ministry said that Taiwan’s representative office in Honolulu would continue to assess the possibility of rebuilding the plaza and maintain close contact with the Honolulu city government over the matter.
Regarding poor public order near the plaza, MOFA said it respects the local government’s authority to take steps to address the problem.
MOFA added that the plaza would review and enhance its security and safety management plans and work closely with the city government to uphold public order in the area.
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