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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Disasters & Emergencies

Hsinchu velodrome damaged by mudslides and flooding after costly renovation

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Hsinchu City's velodrome suffered severe damage from heavy rainfall, with mudslides and flooding reported.
  • City Councilor Liu Yen-ling criticized the city government for the poor condition of the facility, which underwent a 118 million NT dollar renovation.
  • The velodrome, completed late last year, has experienced structural issues including cracks and flooding, impacting athletes' training.

Hsinchu City's velodrome has been devastated by recent heavy rains, with images revealing extensive mudslides and flooding within the facility. City Councilor Liu Yen-ling visited the velodrome and expressed dismay at its condition, particularly given the 118 million NT dollar renovation it recently underwent.

The velodrome, which cost 118 million NT dollars to renovate, has become a mudslide ruin.

— Liu Yen-lingDescribing the current state of the Hsinchu City velodrome after heavy rainfall.

Liu criticized the Hsinchu City government, led by Mayor Kao Hung-an, for failing to address the issues. She highlighted that the renovation project itself was delayed and even caused an accident where a World Games referee suffered a fractured bone during a test ride. The facility was not ready in time for the World Games last May, despite receiving nearly 60 million NT dollars in central government subsidies.

Completed and accepted in late October last year, the velodrome has already shown significant problems. Cracks have appeared on the track, and the indoor area floods whenever it rains. The recent downpour has turned the velodrome into what Liu described as a "mudslide ruin," with fallen trees and debris covering the track, and significant wall cracks visible. She questioned how athletes could possibly train under such conditions.

How can athletes train in such an environment?

— Liu Yen-lingExpressing concern over the velodrome's condition and its impact on athletes.

Liu emphasized the critical nature of these training years for young cyclists, stating that the current state of the velodrome, a result of the city government's renovation, severely hinders their progress. She lamented that athletes are forced to train in other counties, questioning if Mayor Kao is truly considering the athletes' needs and future. The councilor called for immediate disaster recovery efforts to allow athletes to resume their practice.

Many high school cyclists only have a few years of golden training time, but due to Kao Hung-an's city government renovating it into a ruin-like velodrome, it has seriously affected the athletes' training.

— Liu Yen-lingCriticizing the city government's handling of the velodrome renovation and its consequences for young athletes.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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