Declining to comment on allegations that the city government knew about the overpricing of the Xinsheng Overpass construction project two years ago, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday promised that would be looked into and that there would be “no limits” to the investigation.
Hau promised to conclude the investigation in two weeks and make public the results.
On Friday, Hau set up a task force headed by him to find out if any corruption or bribery was involved in the purchase plans for the overpass and the Taipei International Flora Expo.
PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The latest findings showed that in addition to the flowers and plants for the overpass, the contractor also overcharged for at least seven other purchase plans. As a result, the city government paid up to 12 times the market price for project materials. The initial investigation also showed that the civil servants who handled the project were seriously negligent.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) City Councilor Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) further raised eyebrows when he on Saturday alleged that the city government was made aware of the overpricing when city auditors pointed out the problems in May 2008. The auditing team was led by City Secretariat Director Yang Hsi-an (楊錫安) who is a member of the new task force established by Hau.
The controversy comes at a sensitive time for Hau, of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), who is seeking re-election in the Nov. 27 Taipei mayoral election.
KMT Sinbei City candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫), who has appeared at numerous joint election events with Hau over the past three months, yesterday appeared to distance himself from Hau.
He told the press that he would “continue to encourage himself to work harder” when asked whether he believed the episode would impact his own election prospects in Sinbei City.
“I believe that … every single person on the Taipei City municipal team needs to have their screws tightened,” Chu said, adding “this incident is the tip of the iceberg and [they] should use this chance to thoroughly fix some problems.”
Chu’s comments reflect a growing sense of unease by the KMT that the episode could impact not only Hau’s own support in Taipei City, but extend to Chu’s in Sinbei City. Chu is currently battling head-to-head with Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Chu and Hau have recently promised increased integration and cooperation between Taipei and Sinbei cities, if elected, including launching joint bids for international events such as the East Asian Games in 2017 and the Asian Games in 2019.
“It further shows that this so-called cooperation is only an election trick,” said Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), a spokesperson for Tsai’s campaign. “Chu’s first impulse after this affair was to cut and run.”
Cheng said that as an issue that involves the misuse of taxpayer money, the public was watching closely to see how the government resolved the problem, not just in Taipei City, but all over Taiwan.
“It’s not simply a local issue anymore, it’s a national one and we believe how the KMT handles this will impact [Chu’s] election chances in Sinbei City,” he said.
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
RSS