Legislator Questions NT$980,000 Office Renovation; Lai Hsiu-ju Says Renovation Saved Money

Taipei, June 18 (CNA) Kuomintang Legislator Wang Hung-wei questioned on Tuesday the Mainland Affairs Council's (MAC) expenditure of NT$980,000 for office renovations. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng and Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairperson Lai Hsiu-ju on Wednesday took media on a tour of the meeting room, with Lai stating that the renovation was cost-effective and that the space is relatively safe for interactions with Hong Kong people.

During a question-and-answer session with MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng at the Legislative Yuan's Internal Administration Committee on Tuesday morning, Wang Hung-wei first questioned the MAC's budget allocation, pointing out that the MAC frequently states its budget is limited, yet it spent NT$980,000 to renovate an office of about 10 ping (approximately 33 square meters). She questioned the reasonableness of the expenditure. She also presented a photo of the office in her briefing, which appeared to be luxuriously decorated, but this image was AI-generated and not an actual photo.

Chiu Chui-cheng and Lai Hsiu-ju took media on a tour of the approximately 10-ping meeting room on Wednesday. The meeting room was converted from the former SEF chairperson's office into a multi-functional meeting room.

Lai Hsiu-ju said she thanked the MAC for transforming this underutilized space into a multi-functional meeting room with many thoughtful touches. She said she asked an AI online how much it would cost to renovate an old 30-year-old, 10-ping office, and the AI told her that if the plumbing needed to be replaced and sprinklers installed, the overall cost would be around NT$1 million. Compared to the actual renovation cost of NT$980,000, this renovation was relatively cost-effective.

She further explained that this meeting room is also used for interactions with Hong Kong people. Recently, there have been frequent reports of cross-border suppression against Hong Kong people in Taiwan, and interacting in this space is relatively safe.

Lai Hsiu-ju also mentioned that the image presented by Wang Hung-wei in her briefing was AI-generated and could easily lead to misunderstandings.

Chiu Chui-cheng stated that the MAC has too many related meetings, and if they continuously rented venues at the National Taiwan University International Convention Center nearby, the overall cost would be quite high. Now that this multi-functional meeting room is available, although it is not large, various meetings can be held here, and exchanges with Hong Kong people can take place. (Edited by Chen Kai-yu) 1150618

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