Political Clash in Taichung City Council; Ho Hsin-chun: 'Supervision is a Councilor's Duty'

Taichung City Councilor Chen Yu-jung (DPP) criticized the failure to deliver on the MRT Blue Line project yesterday, to which Mayor Lu Shiow-yen retorted that the councilor's own campaign promises also had zero progress. In response, DPP Legislator Ho Hsin-chun stated today that supervision is a councilor's duty and expressed deep regret over Mayor Lu's attitude during the questioning. Mayor Lu attended the city council yesterday, where Chen questioned the failure of most of the mayor's 15 campaign promises and pointed out that the budget execution rate for the MRT Blue Line was only 3.25%. Mayor Lu replied, "I am looking at your campaign promises now, including the start of the Blue Line. Has it started? Your progress is also zero," sparking debate. Ho Hsin-chun, a DPP legislator and candidate for Taichung mayor, told the media during a campaign stop this morning that the mayor's duty is to govern well and advance major construction projects efficiently. Ho stated that Mayor Lu should explain why the MRT Blue Line has not yet started construction, rather than responding to councilors with an irresponsible and contemptuous attitude. "Supervision is the duty of a councilor, and governing the city well is the duty of the mayor." Regarding reports of a school lunch incident where 30 students had to share a pot of soup with only 9 meatballs, Ho said that as a mother of two, the free school lunch policy must be based on ensuring children are well-fed and healthy, while also considering food safety and nutritional balance. She added that she would ask DPP city councilors to exercise strong oversight in the council to ensure the city government implements the policy effectively.