VACANT STOREFRONTS: Cash flow in Taipei has not changed much, but growth in the city’s other areas makes it seem like the East District is declining, the mayor said
Taipei Times
Date: Apr 08, 2019
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
Stores are going out of business in Taipei’s East District (東區) due to of a lack of
A pedestrian on March 27 passes by vacant store fronts that are for rent on Zhongxiao E Rd between Fuxing N Rd and Dunhua N Rd in Taipei’s East District.Photo Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
economic growth, not district decline, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said on Saturday.
Claims that the vacant storefronts point to a “declining East District” have been overblown by the media, Ko said.
Since January, local media have reported that famous stores in the district have closed their doors due to high rents. The Yun Fu Lou Restaurant (永福樓), a two-story Chinese restaurant that had served customers on Zhongxiao E Road Sec 4 (忠孝東路四段) for four decades, closed in February.
High rents are not the only reason for the shutdowns, Ko wrote on Facebook, adding that two aspects of the problem should be considered: rental costs and cash flow.
“High rent is a major obstacle for innovative industry in Taipei, because once a business starts to make a profit, the profit is often consumed by the high rental costs,” Ko said.
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