Taoyuan's mayor is promising more roads, tourism money, and medical services for the mountain district of Fuxing, which is good news for the mostly Indigenous communities there.

• Taoyuan is pushing the central government to create a North Cross-Island national scenic area and certify Lalashan as an international dark sky site.
• Road repair money for Fuxing has jumped from NT$30 million a year to NT$80 million, with NT$90 million planned for next year.
• A dialysis center is already open, and early planning has started for a Fuxing branch of the city hospital.
• Nearly half a billion NT dollars has gone into tourist facilities along the North Cross-Island Highway, plus streetlight and guesthouse lighting fixes for the dark sky bid.
• The goal is local jobs that pull young people back to the mountain villages.

Outlook: The dark sky certification push aims to wrap up by year end, with lighting work finished by late September.