Prosecutors have launched an investigation into alleged irregularities surrounding the Xinsheng Overpass renovation project and detained a former city government official in connection with the case, but this has not relieved the Taipei City Government from controversies connected with the Taipei International Flora Expo. On the contrary, the city government’s repeated attempts to disconnect the overpass project scandal from the flora expo have only fueled the public’s doubts.
The city’s response to accusations of overpricing in connection with the two projects is to say that both projects went through an open bidding process, that the flora expo is not a flower market and that cultural innovation is priceless, while seeking endorsements for these views from academics and experts. This only leaves the feeling that the city government is trying to cover the truth.
The city government stresses that it invited bids in accordance with the Government Procurement Act (政府採購法) and awarded the projects to the lowest tenders within the government estimates to save taxpayers’ money. However, even if a public bidding process formally conforms to the legally prescribed procedure, that does not guarantee that the process is legal.
Take the bidding for the overpass project for example. Although it was an open bidding process, there were vast differences between the different bids, all of which were considerably higher than the government estimate. Some of the bidders might have participated in the bidding to ensure that there was no winner and force the city government to raise its estimate. If such collusion took place, it should be dealt with in accordance with Article 87 of the Government Procurement Act.
After the bid failed several times, city government officials changed the estimate to an average of the preceding bids. Since this was a much higher figure than before, the officials had to apply for a much bigger budget. This completely undermines the city’s claim that it was trying to save taxpayers’ money.
Even if the officials handling the bidding and their department heads did not benefit themselves, these actions benefited a certain bidder. That makes them guilty of reporting false prices as defined by Article 4, Item 3 of the Anti-Corruption Statute (貪污治罪條例), and of intentionally benefiting themselves or another private individual as defined by Article 6, Item 4 of the same statute. They cannot be cleared of criminal responsibility by claiming that it was a matter of mere carelessness.
In order to assess whether a procurement process is lawful or not, it is not enough to consider the formalities. It is more important to determine whether the process involves open competition and reasonable pricing. After all, big construction projects have to be paid for with the public’s hard-earned money. That is why the Government Procurement Act not only sets out a standard procedure for purchasing, but also defines bid collusion and bid rigging as criminal acts.
Experts trotted out by the Taipei City Government have sought to justify the acceptance of excessively high bids for these projects on the grounds that creativity is priceless.
That is acceptable if the cost of making the object is borne by the creator and the art is presented to the public for no financial reward. On the other hand, if the art is funded by the public, then the funding must be subject to scrutiny.
If the artists try to dodge every attempt at scrutiny on the grounds that art is priceless, then they tarnish the idea that the flora expo is open for everyone to enjoy.
Wu Ching-chin is an assistant professor at Aletheia University’s Department of Financial and Economic Law.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG AND JULIAN CLEGG
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