"The time is not ripe for Taichung to be elevated to a metropolis," explained Dr. I-chang Chow. "We still have a lot of public works projects to finish, and once Taichung is redesignated it will lose one-third of the matching funds provided by the central government for local reconstruction, which will be a major setback." "Taichung Harbor may be fundamentally unsuited for direct cross-strait shipping."
「台中升格為直轄市的時機尚未成熟」，曾因提出太多反面意見而遭「圍攻」的周宜強主任解釋，「因為台中還有許多公共建設尚待完成，一升格，就會失去中央政府提供給地方建設的三分之一配合款項，反而影響進度。」