Huang Lin Ling-Ling
Taipei County Councillor
“Residents of Losheng are also part of Sinjhuang. We care for them. “
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The Locals say...
The construction of the metro Sinjhuang Line started in 2002 and was due to be completed in 2009. Residents in the areas have been looking forward to the metro for years. Since March, they’ve heard that the metro operation would be delayed because of the difficulty of getting the place designated for the terminal station. Residents of Losheng Leprosy Sanatorium now live on the site and refuse to move out.
To express their voice, the locals had a protest to appeal to the government for early operation of the metro.
Is it a battle between a majority of the locals and a minority of the Losheng residents?
What do the locals want?
The metro Sinjhuang Line will facilitate the travel of around 1.3 millions of residents in the satellite cities of Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Residents of Sinjhuang worry about the delay of the metro operation in particular. As Sinjhuang has long been an industrial city with poor living conditions, many locals have to commute to Taipei for better education and jobs. The travel takes time and the metro construction along the main street of Sinjhuang made the situation even worse. Moreover, the poor condition of the road has caused 112 people to lose their lives in five years according to the mayor of Sinjhuang Hsu Bing-Kun.
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Traffic jam is common in Sinjhuang. |
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“It’s not a battle against Losheng. Residents in Sinjhuang simply express what they need badly, “said Taipei County Councillor Huang Lin Ling-Ling, also the former major of Sinjhuang. She has written an article saying that residents of Sinjhuang are the true minority. “Unlike Losheng protesters, the residents don’t know how to organise themselves to voice their concern. Still we respect the Losheng supporters' right to expression, and we never blame them. Yet we also hope people hear our voice: we need the metro,” she explained.
Local residents are expecting the area’s better development brought by the metro as well. They anticipate that the future convenient transportation would be an incentive for more people to move to Sinjhuang and bring economic growth to the area. In fact, the housing price in the area has risen year by year. Business such as IKEA and B&Q has also opened its branch store in Sinjhuang because of the good prospects. “You see how much Tucheng (another satellite city of Taipei) has been developed after its metro is completed. Its development used to fall behind ours. Yes I feel sorry for Losheng residents but I do want the metro as soon as possible,” said a local of Sinjhuang Mr Hsu, 60.
The video below shows what the locals say and how the Losheng supporters react.
Dur: 2:10
Link:
- The Department of Rapid Transit System (Chinese & English)
Next Page to see how the locals feel about Losheng....