The Dadu and Mei Bridges connecting Taichung and Changhua held an opening ceremony today, shortening the journey between the two places from 30 minutes to 3 minutes. However, the central government's subsidies amounted to NT$2.4 billion, and Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs Tung Chien-hong, who attended on behalf of the central government, was once again "confiscated of his right to speak" during the speech.
Citing the hot weather and the large number of guests, Taichung Mayor Lu Hsiu-yen said that the government and the people would choose a representative to deliver the speech, and the highest-level Vice-President of the Legislative Yuan, Jiang Qichen, would be chosen to take the stage. Tung did not have the opportunity to publicly explain central subsidies and central-local cooperation until after the ceremony when he accepted a joint interview with the media.
Dadu and Meiqiao are major construction projects jointly promoted by Taichung and Changhua. The total cost is 3.3 billion yuan, half of which is borne by the two counties and cities, of which 80%, or about 2.4 billion yuan, is subsidized by the central government. Lu Xiuyan and Changhua County Mayor Wang Huimei both mentioned in their speeches that they will leave office in two months. The construction of Dadu and Meiqiao was a political idea jointly proposed at the beginning. Now the project has been completed and opened to traffic four months ahead of schedule, fulfilling its promise to the local people.
The opening of the Dadu and Mei Bridges to traffic is an important event in Changhua. The current mayors Lu Xiuyan and Wang Huimei, counties and cities attended the meeting. Taichung mayoral candidate Jiang Qichen, and the Democratic Progressive Party Changhua County Mayor candidate Chen Suyue, as well as local legislators and congressmen attended the meeting. It was quite lively. This time, the central government subsidy fund was 2.4 billion. Dong Jianhong was also invited to attend on behalf of the central government, but his speech on behalf of the central government was suspected to have been confiscated.
After the opening ceremony was briefed by Taichung City Construction Director Chen Datian, Lu Xiuyan and Wang Huimei delivered speeches successively. Lu Xiuyan said that the weather was hot today and there were many guests. The government and the people had to choose a representative to deliver the speech, so Jiang Qichen, the highest-level Vice President of the Legislative Yuan, was chosen to speak. After Jiang Qichen took the stage, he also invited legislators, congressmen and other people's representatives to come to the stage, forming a huge lineup.
The central government subsidized the Dadu and Meiqiao bridges to the tune of approximately NT$2.4 billion. However, Tung Chien-hong, who represented the central government, was not scheduled to deliver a speech. It was not until after the ribbon-cutting and more than 3,000 people walked on the bridge that Tung Chien-hong accepted a media interview and was asked about the central subsidy before speaking publicly. He said that through the opening ceremony, he witnessed that the central and local cooperation can benefit more people. The central and local governments have always attached great importance to the development of the central region.
This is not the first time that Tung Chien-hung has been excluded from delivering a speech at a Taichung City Government event. In February last year, Taichung City held a completion ceremony for the road improvement of Evolution North Road. The project cost 72 million yuan and the central government subsidy was as high as 82%. Tung Chien-hong was also invited to attend. After Lu Xiuyan's personal speech lasted for more than 10 minutes, the city government only arranged for Tung Chien-hong to come on stage for a "prize-based answer question" on the grounds that there were many guests and could not invite everyone to deliver a speech.
At that time, Dong Jianhong seized the opportunity and emphasized that more than 80% of the project funds came from the central forward-looking planning budget. He also mentioned that the forward-looking budget was still lying in the Legislative Yuan. He hoped that local heads would exert their influence and that the legislators would support the budget of the Ministry of Interior and assist local construction. Now that the Dadu and Mei Bridges have been opened to traffic, with the central government investing NT$2.4 billion, Tung Chien-hong once again failed to deliver a speech at the ceremony, which also aroused concern.
