TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) on Tuesday (Dec. 13) emphasized the national defense role played by Taipei Songshan Airport, in contrast with calls by legislative candidate Enoch Wu (吳怡農) to replace it with a park.

The proposal to remove the airport from a densely populated urban area first gained prominence in the 2002 mayoral elections, but Wu relaunched the idea in his campaign for a Jan. 8 legislative by-election. He emphasized the dangers to public safety posed by the current situation, as well as the building restrictions in the area that limit urban renewal. Wu wants to turn the airport into a local version of New York City’s Central Park in 2030, when a third runway at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport will be completed.

However, Wang remarked Tuesday that the issue was more than just a case of urban development, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported. Songshan, officially known as Taipei International Airport, played a key role in maintaining air links with the east coast and with Taiwan’s outer islands, flying 2.7 million passengers per year on the routes before the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Even more important was the airport’s military role in the defense of the capital, as it housed Air Force planes and could be used for fighter jets to take off and land during emergencies, according to Wang. Critics of Wu’s move also remarked that the presidential plane and flights by prominent foreign visitors often use Songshan.

The Ministry of Interior also stationed helicopters for its National Airborne Service Corps at the airport to conduct emergency rescue operations and ferry patients from the outer islands to Taipei, Wang said. He called for a rational dialogue about the future of Taipei Songshan Airport.