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Updated Sunday, December 26, 2010 11:04 pm TWN, The China Post news staff

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Municipalities command 60% of population

The aggregate population of the five municipal cities amounts to 13.81 million, accounting for 59.63 percent of the nation's total population of 23.16 million, according to statistics compiled as of Dec. 24 by the Ministry of Interior (MOI).

In addition to Taipei City, the five municipalities include Xinbei City, upgraded from the former Taipei County; Taichung City, a merger of the former Taichung city and county; Tainan City, a combination of the former Tainan city and county; and Kaohshiung City, a merger of the former Kaohsiung city and county, with the upgrading and merger officially taking effect yesterday.

MOI tallies showed that the 13.81 million population of the five municipal cities includes 6.85 million male citizens and 6.95 million female citizens.

Of the five municipalities, Xinbei City takes the lead with a total population of 3.89 million, followed by Kaohsiung City with 2.77 million, Taichung City 2.64 million, Taipei City 2.61 million and Tainan City 1.87 million.

All the household registration offices around the island have suspended their household registration operations from 5:00 p.m. Dec. 24 to 8:00 a.m. Dec. 27, to allow staffers to update the household registration computer systems.

Interior Minister Jiang Yi-hua said that he has instructed related civil, police and household affairs units to gear up preparations during the weekend, so that the household registration systems in the five municipalities can go online smoothly on Monday.

The address format of all municipalities except Taipei City should be changed, with townships and cities under the original county governments converted to “districts” and villages to be changed to “boroughs,” but the names of streets and roads remaining unchanged.

Meanwhile, the MOI has set up ad hoc panels to help the new municipalities seamlessly complete transformation affairs.

Also yesterday, Interior Minister Jiang Yi-hua said that riding on the birth of the five municipalities, the government will move to develop Taiwan into three major living circles and seven regions.

The three major living circles are: international metropolis in northern Taiwan as the national door, economic and trade hub, as well as innovation and research center; the excellent cultural life center in central Taiwan; and twin centers for international port city and ocean culture in southern Taiwan.

The seven regions are the ones covering Taipei, Xinbei, Keelung City and Yilan County; Taoyuan County, Hsin city and county, and Miaoli County; Taichung, Changhua County, and Nantou County; Yunlin County, Chiayi county and city, Tainan; Kaohsiung and Pingtung County; and offshore Penghu County, Kinmen County and Matsu County.

Minister Jiang said that his ministry will help set up seven regional development committees to take charge of mapping out optimal development projects for the regions in accordance with their respective characteristics, adding that cities and counties involved in the same regions should join forces to carry out the projects.

Jiang stressed that his ministry and the Council for Economic Planning and Development have reached a consensus that cooperative development projects involving different counties and cities will be granted priority subsidies and technical and legal assistance.

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