TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — DPP Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) on Tuesday questioned KMT rival and fellow lawmaker Ko Chih-en’s (柯志恩) call for additional funding for the Dalinpu relocation project.
Dalinpu, a farming and fishing village along the coast of Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District, experienced major environmental changes after the government brought heavy industries to the area in the 1970s, per Our Island. After decades of protests and government fines, authorities decided to relocate residents because pollution from surrounding industries could not be resolved.
Lai said in November 2025 that the government would allocate NT$80 billion (US$2.4 billion) for the project, adding that Economic Affairs Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) had pledged relocation would begin in 2027, per SETN. At an event in Dalinpu, Ko said the project may require more than NT$80 billion to gain residents’ support, per UDN.
Lai criticized Ko’s remarks, saying that while the central government has allocated NT$80 billion for the project, a roughly NT$6 billion budget for preliminary work in 2026 remains stalled in the legislature, per FTV. He accused Ko of raising concerns only during election season, saying he had advocated for the relocation since becoming a lawmaker in 2016.
DPP Kaohsiung City Council candidate Huang Ching-ya (黃敬雅) echoed Lai’s criticism, saying the DPP government had resolved a long-standing issue created by policies implemented under the KMT, per Newtalk. Fellow city council candidate Tang Ju-ting (湯茹婷) criticized Huang’s remarks, saying compensation remains one of residents’ top concerns because it may determine whether they can afford to relocate, per ETtoday.
Ko responded that residents have continued to express concerns about the relocation project since it was proposed in 2019, per Liberty Times. She said she had followed the issue since then and met with local borough chiefs while participating in the 2022 Kaohsiung mayoral election.
Ko also questioned why the DPP failed to advance the project when it held a legislative majority and could have pushed its priorities forward.
Before Dalinpu, Hongmaogang was the first village in the area to be relocated for economic development. Although the government provided favorable loans and affordable land, some less affluent residents were unable to move to the new community alongside their neighbors.
Inside newly built temples, maps showing the former village are among the few remaining reminders of the old community. Many Dalinpu residents worry about maintaining close-knit ties after relocation, including whether neighbors will continue living nearby and whether fishers will lose access to the harbor needed for their livelihoods, per Our Island.
Residents and civic groups have also criticized Premier Cho Jung-tai’s (卓榮泰) recently announced plan to address Taiwan’s construction waste through a land reclamation project near Dalinpu, per Tai Sounds. They said that instead of moving residents away from pollution, the government’s latest land reclamation project has worsened the area’s already poor air quality, as strong southwesterly winds carry dust from the reclaimed land back into Dalinpu.
