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Mon, Aug 11, 2003 - Page 11　News List

A slow and frustrating pace of change

The Taiwan government comes in for a lot of criticism from foreign businesses for not opening up major public construction projects to outside bidders. When Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization in January 2002, it agreed to sign after one year the Government Procurement Agreement, opening all public projects to bidders from any WTO member state. The deadline has passed and Taiwan still hasn't signed the agreement. Taipei Times staff reporter Bill Heaney talked to Geoffrey Spencer, co-chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Taipei's Procurement & Project Committee about his members' concerns over the pace of change

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TT: What projects have foreign companies been excluded from recently and why? What projects are coming up, and will foreign companies be excluded from any of them?

Spencer: At the moment, foreign bidders are excluded from some of Taipower's transmission projects. In the recent past, foreign bidders were excluded from bidding on the new air-bridges for CKS airport despite the fact the most of the technology must come from overseas. I would like to think that this would not occur in the future, as the government will either sign the GPA or implement the spirit of the GPA.

TT: Is it fair to say that projects are not opened up for reasons of cronyism? Are politically-appointed company bosses in collusion with bureaucrats to shut out the foreigners and keep the plum contracts among friends?

Spencer: There could be many reasons for the exclusion of foreign bidders and I am not prepared to speculate on what they might be. The most important fact is that the government should enact the principles of the GPA as quickly as possible.

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