Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an defended his plan to relocate Songshan Airport, arguing that new forms of warfare have changed the requirements for military deployment. The proposal is good news for tech firms seeking land for development in the city centre, but opponents question whether adequate arrangements are in place.

• Chiang said that in the face of new modes of warfare, the deployment of national defence forces can be rethought, and there is no need to remain tied to Songshan Airport.
• He pledged that defence needs would not be compromised, that medical helicopter evacuations would not be interrupted, and that the passenger traffic of residents of the outlying islands would be properly transferred elsewhere.
• Democratic Progressive Party candidate Shen Po-yang and Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung criticised the plan as too hasty, saying it had been raised abruptly just over 50 days before the election and without prior coordination.
• Chiang stressed that this was no surprise move: the city government had long had its eye on the Songnan military camp on the airport's southern side, and had even written to Jensen Huang recommending the site as the location for Nvidia's overseas headquarters.
• The city government has already asked the Ministry of National Defense to return the land, and plans to open the Songnan camp to commercial tenders next year, with strong investment interest from the technology and healthcare sectors.

Outlook: Next year's tender for the Songnan camp will be the first substantive test of the plan, while the relocation of Songshan Airport itself is set to become a major battleground in the Taipei mayoral election.