PRIORITIES:Citizen’s Congress Watch said the Legislative Yuan should first pass an overdue budget for state-owned enterprises, which has cleared committee review
Taipei Times
Date: Jul 14, 2017
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
A planned review of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program
Taiwan Environmental Protection Union chairman Liou Gin-show, left, and vice chairman Liu Jih-jian hold a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Cheng Hung-ta, Taipei Times
budget yesterday drew conflicting reactions from civic groups, with one
environmental group calling for additional funding even as others called for the review to be postponed or stopped.
“The current budget is insufficient, because it does not include any funds for a ‘blue road’ coastal ferry service and the first stage does not include the doubling of railway on the eastern coast,” Taiwan Environmental Protection Union chairman Liou Gin-show (劉俊秀) told a news conference, calling infrastructure development plans for eastern counties “far too slow.”
“Plans to develop MRT and light rail systems in western cities such as Hsinchu, Tainan and Kaohsiung can be slowed down a bit, because residents need to get used to using public transportation first,” Liou said. “However, rail development on the east coast is extremely urgent, because there is no way to get to most places other than driving.” [FULL STORY]
