"Details for new plans to rent out city-owned apartments next to MRT stations were announced by the Taipei City Government yesterday. “Even if there is still no way to make housing purchases affordable for young people in Taipei, at least we can make sure they have a place to live,” Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said. Taipei Deputy Mayor Charles Lin (林欽榮) said there was no need to force young people to live far away, as the MRT system’s 103 stations all have accompanying housing developments. He dismissed concerns that renting out apartments within MRT developments would negatively affect surrounding real-estate prices, saying that the apartments were of higher quality than previously constructed public housing. According to the plans, 570 housing units next to the Longshan Temple, Gangqian, Taipei Bridge and Xindian Depot MRT stations would be opened for rental next month, with further properties to follow as other joint development projects are completed." - Jessie

"Under the new plan, housing units are to be available for rental at rates 15 percent to 30 percent less than market price for up to six years by individuals between 20 and 45 years of age, regardless of their city of household registration. Ten percent of the units would be reserved for people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. An interview with Lin published on Wednesday in Next Magazine outlined the considerations behind the city’s future public housing plans in more detail. In the interview, Lin said that with publicly rented housing units composing only 0.08 percent of housing units nationwide, Taiwan lagged far behind the 5 percent average for international cities. “This demonstrates that a government function is missing,” he said. “The government has failed to regulate housing prices and care for people who need a place to live.”" - Jessie