The Cabinet formally approved an over NT$350 billion (US$10.8 billion) high-speed rail extension plan to Yilan at its plenary session on Thursday, July 23. The decision resulted in Former Minister without Portfolio Chang Ching-sen (張景森) announcing his withdrawal from the DPP as a statement against the project.

Chang posted on Facebook on Friday, expressing his dissatisfaction with the plan, criticizing it as useless and built for local election gains. He said it is a “huge, historical mistake.”

In response, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) stated that he hopes that Chang, who has long been dedicated to national economic development and major infrastructure projects, will change his mind and continue to assist the government’s engineering team to promote the High Speed ​​Rail extension to Yilan.

The Cabinet emphasized that the extension to Yilan will alleviate the long-standing congestion on National Highway No. 5 and improve transportation convenience between northern Taiwan and the east coast. According to the proposal, construction is expected to be completed 11 years after approval.