Keelung Mayor Hsieh Calls Bus Budget Cut a 'Political Sneak Attack'; Speaker Tung Refutes
The Keelung City Government's additional budget to purchase double-decker sightseeing buses was voted down by DPP councilors. Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang criticized it as a 'political sneak attack,' while Council Speaker Tung Tzu-wei countered that cutting inappropriate budgets is a councilor's duty.
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- 📰 Published: June 6, 2026 at 17:06
- 🔍 Collected: June 6, 2026 at 17:16 (10 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: June 6, 2026 at 22:40 (5h 24m after Collected)
(Central News Agency, Keelung, 6th) The Keelung City Government's additional budget plan to purchase double-decker sightseeing buses was deleted by a vote of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councilors. Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang said today that the DPP caucus launched a 'political sneak attack' and that it was not a normal review. Council Speaker Tung Tzu-wei responded that cutting inappropriate budgets is a councilor's duty, not a political maneuver.
The Keelung City government allocated over NT$20 million last year to purchase one double-decker sightseeing bus, which began service in April this year.
DPP councilor Chang Chih-hao recently argued that the city already has one such bus, but its operations are dismal and ridership is low. He said the city government is going against the trend by allocating another NT$50 million to buy two more.
The DPP caucus, leveraging a numerical advantage, initiated an emergency vote at the city council on the 4th, advocating for the deletion of the NT$50 million budget, and succeeded.
In an interview today, Mayor Hsieh said the DPP caucus used a surprise tactic to delete the municipal budget. For the city government, he called it 'a municipal version of the Pearl Harbor attack,' stating it was not a normal review but a political sneak attack.
'History also tells us that Keelung's municipal governance will not be defeated by such a sneak attack,' Hsieh said. He added that starting next week, the city government team and the Kuomintang (KMT) caucus in the Keelung City Council will unite and work harder to safeguard the budget for the citizens, continue to do a good job in municipal affairs, and carry out the determination to promote the municipal budget.
Speaker Tung responded that the city council's review of the city government's budget was live-streamed, making it open, transparent, and reviewable at any time. Whether it was a normal review is clear. He also noted that the chairperson for that day's session was KMT councilor Ho Shu-ping. Since the KMT holds an absolute majority in the city council, if they had been united, the DPP could not have deleted any budget.
Tung argued that on the day of the budget review, the KMT caucus had a low attendance rate. He stated that every councilor has the right and obligation to express the opinions and views of the citizens. He said that the city's public buses are old and often break down. Under these circumstances, spending NT$50 million to buy two very expensive double-decker sightseeing buses is inappropriate. He suggested it would be better to prioritize replacing old city buses and subsidizing driver salaries to improve Keelung's long-standing public transportation problems.
Tung pointed out that cutting inappropriate budgets is the duty of city councilors and is not a political maneuver. He said Mayor Hsieh's use of the 'Pearl Harbor historical event' as a metaphor was highly inappropriate. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 1150606
The Keelung City government allocated over NT$20 million last year to purchase one double-decker sightseeing bus, which began service in April this year.
DPP councilor Chang Chih-hao recently argued that the city already has one such bus, but its operations are dismal and ridership is low. He said the city government is going against the trend by allocating another NT$50 million to buy two more.
The DPP caucus, leveraging a numerical advantage, initiated an emergency vote at the city council on the 4th, advocating for the deletion of the NT$50 million budget, and succeeded.
In an interview today, Mayor Hsieh said the DPP caucus used a surprise tactic to delete the municipal budget. For the city government, he called it 'a municipal version of the Pearl Harbor attack,' stating it was not a normal review but a political sneak attack.
'History also tells us that Keelung's municipal governance will not be defeated by such a sneak attack,' Hsieh said. He added that starting next week, the city government team and the Kuomintang (KMT) caucus in the Keelung City Council will unite and work harder to safeguard the budget for the citizens, continue to do a good job in municipal affairs, and carry out the determination to promote the municipal budget.
Speaker Tung responded that the city council's review of the city government's budget was live-streamed, making it open, transparent, and reviewable at any time. Whether it was a normal review is clear. He also noted that the chairperson for that day's session was KMT councilor Ho Shu-ping. Since the KMT holds an absolute majority in the city council, if they had been united, the DPP could not have deleted any budget.
Tung argued that on the day of the budget review, the KMT caucus had a low attendance rate. He stated that every councilor has the right and obligation to express the opinions and views of the citizens. He said that the city's public buses are old and often break down. Under these circumstances, spending NT$50 million to buy two very expensive double-decker sightseeing buses is inappropriate. He suggested it would be better to prioritize replacing old city buses and subsidizing driver salaries to improve Keelung's long-standing public transportation problems.
Tung pointed out that cutting inappropriate budgets is the duty of city councilors and is not a political maneuver. He said Mayor Hsieh's use of the 'Pearl Harbor historical event' as a metaphor was highly inappropriate. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 1150606