Led by Hsinchu County Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun, the Hsinchu County Government held a press conference to mark the 7th anniversary of Magistrate Chiu’s inauguration on December 15th. Magistrate Chiu listed the achievements attained during his term as magistrate, including building nine bridges and seven schools, promoting Nine Stations along Neiwan Railway Line, and being named the ICF Top 7 Smart City. He also stated that future efforts will center on making Provincial Highway 3 the Hakka Romantic Avenue, turning Hsinchu into an artistic township, and setting up landscape art works to make Hsinchu County a highly-livable technology community.
Although the county faces fiscal difficulties, Magistrate Chiu is never penny-pinching when it comes to the issues of education. He said that education is essential for nurturing the next generation. In particular, in face of the trend of fewer children and the gap between urban and rural areas, a large amount of resources must be committed to allow children to learn in a good educational environment. Despite a shortage of funding, even a toilet or a running track makes the learning environment for schoolchildren better.
Besides, during the press conference, Magistrate Chiu showed the results of the all-out anti-drug effort in recent years, and invited addicts who had successfully given up drugs to share their life stories. He pointed out that the number of schoolchildren misusing drugs decreased by 35% this year and the total number of drug cases decreased by 59%. The county government has put preventive education into schools and use diverse creative approaches to make children and adults understand drugs, guard against drugs, and refuse drugs. Together with four predominant religious groups and 100 private enterprises and groups, the county government will strive to build a healthy, drug-free Hsinchu County.