The mayors of Hsinchu and Keelung on Monday shared proposals for administrative mergers to their cities. The Hsinchu mayor says the idea of merging his city with the surrounding Hsinchu County has wide support among the public. Meanwhile, the Keelung mayor is proposing two mergers with nearby districts in New Taipei and even a plan for a merger with Taipei City.

Hsinchu mayor Lin Chih-chien’s proposal to merge Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County has ignited much discussion in recent weeks. The mayor says the merger has strong support from the public. On Monday, he outlined some benefits of merging the two areas into a special municipality.

Lin Chih-chien
Hsinchu mayor
We want this city to continue to innovate and be competitive, and most importantly maintain its level of livability and sustainability.

The Hsinchu mayor is not the only one proposing a restructuring of administrative areas in Taiwan. Keelung mayor Lin Yu-chang says Keelung City, Hsinchu City and Chiayi City should be merged with nearby administrative areas and upgraded to special municipalities. That would mean big changes for the northeast involving Taipei, New Taipei and Keelung.

One of his suggestions is a merger of seven administrative areas in the northeast coast including Keelung City and New Taipei’s Shimen and Wanli districts.

Another proposal is for Taipei and Keelung to merge and acquire New Taipei’s Xizhi District.

Lin Yu-chang
Keelung mayor
We could get areas of the north coast to come together with Keelung into a “Greater Keelung” city. Or we could merge these living areas together – Taipei, Xizhi and Keelung - and make them into a “Greater Taipei” urban area. Then if Mayor Ko has interest he can run for office and add another term as Taipei mayor.

Cheng Wen-tsan
Taoyuan mayor
I think that this time Xizhi and Keelung should be included in any plans. In fact, Xizhi is already considered to be part of the extended living areas of Neihu and Nangang. It’s also the main way into Keelung. I think this kind of merger would be more valuable.

Lin Chih-chien
Hsinchu mayor
Merging the Hsinchus and upgrading them to a special municipality has a high level of public support. We hope everyone will first let Hsinchu advance first. Then, if other areas have similar wishes, we will happily support them doing the same.

In response to the Keelung mayor’s ideas, the Hsinchu mayor said his city was ready to pave the way for mergers. But according to the Local Government Act, only regions with a population of 1.25 million or more and with special requirements in their political, economic, cultural and metropolitan developments may establish special municipalities. Both mayors concur that times have changed, and that the population requirement should be removed.

Lin Chih-chien
Hsinchu mayor.
Taiwan has a falling birthrate, and because of the pandemic, we have actually entered an age where developments happen in the digital space. So whether these population thresholds still serve any purpose, is something we should all consider.

Lin Yu-chang
Keelung mayor
There is no clear scientific way to decide on a threshold to upgrade regions to special municipalities, or to lower the threshold from 1.25 million to 1 million. So I think that the population requirement should just be removed from the Local Government Act.

The DPP mayors of Hsinchu and Keelung are calling for mergers, which may become another variable to consider for the 2022 local elections.