Mayor’s remarks
1. Appreciation and Blessing for Teachers
(1) Tomorrow will be Teacher’s Day. On the eve of Teacher’s Day, I would express, on behalf of all citizens, my deepest appreciation and respect to all teachers who are faithful to their education duty and contribute to students’ lives. Happy Teacher’s Day!
(2) “Let education give children wings to fly toward their dreams” is the educational belief of the city government, and it takes the dedication and effort of teachers to make this belief a reality by allowing children to grow strong through adaptive development and learning with happiness.
(3) I hope that all teachers can sustain their initial belief, mission and ideal for education; feel proud to be a teacher; improve education quality; and make education their lifelong career to educate future generations with total devotion. By doing so, we can have every child freely pursue their dreams, embrace the future, and become new-generation citizens with critical thinking, creative thinking, and international outlook.
Reports
1. Report on the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program: Heart of the City Construction Project presented by the Bureau of Urban Development (please refer to written sources for details)
Resolution: Approved for reference filing
Mayor's remarks:
(1) My appreciation for the presentation of Director-General Chuang. Balanced Regional Development and Urban-Cultural Co-Prosperity has always been a major policy of our administration. The Bureau of Urban Development and related bureaus and departments have recommended the Sinying-Yanshui Dual-Core City as the main theme for the competitive grant scheme of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program: Heart of the City Construction Project. In this project, the following projects will be combined in the proposal: Yuejin Port Townscape Regeneration 2.0 for Yanshui District and Benefits for Sinying for Sinying District. The former is a new concept and the latter is an extension of an existing project. In the future, this can help shape a clear direction for planning the regional highlights of Sinying-Yanshui and Tainan-Anping. I appreciate idea and efforts of the Bureau of Urban Development.
(2) The Yuejin Lantern Festival held in Yanshui District every Lunar New Year by the city government fuses art with Yanshui’s local cultural elements to combine tradition and innovation, and it has become a new paradigm for lantern festivals and has established an all-new lantern festival brand. This year, the festival attracted 820,000 visitors, a new record, and made a considerable economic impact. The Bureau of Urban Development and Cultural Affairs Bureau should continue their efforts for cross-sector coordination, which covers tasks that include the historical old alleys, lanes and streets; water-friendly and eco-friendly environment; art and creative decoration; water purification; and disaster prevention governance in Yuejin Port should be included in all feasible plans and fulfill the expectations of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program of the Executive Yuan, in order to strive for maximum funding.
(3) In addition, the city government has promoted Phase I of the Sinying Sugar Factory Transformation and Reuse: Railway Landscape Park for Northern and Southern Downtowns Project. The Sinying Railway Landscape Park Phase I was completed and service will begin. This has also enabled us to see new opportunities for the transformation and reuse of Sinying Sugar Factory. After Taiwan Sugar Railways strived for funding to transform into bikeways in recent years, the vision to link three districts in the area north of Zengwen River will now be realized, thanks to the effort of our colleagues of the Bureau of Urban Development.
(4) The Bureau of Urban Development should accelerate coordination and communication with Taiwan Sugar Corporation to promote the Sinying Railway Landscape Park Phase II and Railway Loop Line Linking Project in the Heart of the City Project. The Cultural Affairs Bureau should continue to link to the Chianan Irrigation Green Corridor and Sinying Art Fusion Core projects in order to fully implement the outcomes of the pilot planning. This project requires the combined effort of the Public Works Bureau, Bureau of Urban Development, Water Resources Bureau, and Cultural Affairs Bureau. The secretary-general should set up a project to oversee its progress, in order to turn this place into an important highlight region in the area north of Zengwen River.
2. Report on the Outcomes of Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects and Idle City Property Revitalization and Reuse presented by the Finance and Local Tax Bureau (please refer to written sources for details)
Resolution: Approved for reference filing
Mayor's remarks:
(1) Director-General Chang has shown extraordinary performance in the promotion of private participation in infrastructure (PPIP) projects, idle city property revitalization and reuse, merger of the city’s financial and tax departments, and cutting government expenditures. I thank Director-General Chang and his team for their efforts and the collaboration of all bureaus and departments.
(2) In Tainan City, 19 PPIP projects either have been signed or are in progress, with a total contract value amounting to NT$28.2 billion and a scale much larger than before the county-city merger. In addition, our achievements have earned the Eminent Contribution Award from the Ministry of Finance many times. These projects include the Tainan Municipal An-Nan Hospital BOT Project, Tainan Metropolitan Park & Museum Park ROT Project, Hayashi Department Store OT Project, Haian Road Underground Parking ROT Project, etc. I thank all bureaus and departments for their efforts. Please keep up the good work.
(3) In addition, after the county-city merger and promotion, the city government has inventoried and sorted out the city property and started the revitalization and reuse of idle and lowly-occupied property. In practice, we have matched idle property in 97 locations and cut expenditures by about NT$5.926 billion. Although the quantity of city-monitored idle property has reduced significantly, I still hope all bureaus and departments to further inventory and sort out the buildings and land in their management to review if there is idle property. Then, we should discuss them in the meeting in order to find solutions through concerted efforts.
(4) The report of Director-General Chang shows there are 15 PPIP projects in progress. I hope related bureaus and departments will seek solutions to any difficulties they may come across and keep promoting these projects. In addition, bureaus and departments with management jurisdiction over idle property monitored by the central government or Tainan City should accelerate the revitalization process of such property. The Finance and Local Tax Bureau should provide necessary assistance. I will ask the deputy mayor to set up a project to oversee the progress in order to speed up the matching and revitalization of idle property.