The criticism prompted Yu to fire back at the media and the Control Yuan, which reportedly probed the ceremony's cost.
"If they really want to investigate something, they should look into why the NT$60 billion budget for this project was delayed for more than seven years," he demanded.
"They should look into how much money was wasted during delays under the watch of former premier Yu Kuo-hwa (
"The significance of a ceremony like this is not to flaunt political leadership. Rather, a ceremony serves as an act of gratitude and homage to the hard-working construction team," the premier added.
Yu explained that the construction of the Hsuehshan Tunnel was a highly complicated project. The project, Yu enumerated, included the westbound and eastbound tunnels, the pilot tunnel, the vehicular passages every 1400m and pedestrian links every 300m.
Yu made another promise in his speech, slating the completion of the tunnel's civil engineering in April next year.
Despite the advance of an already tight schedule in order to please Ilan residents, some workers warned that such feel-good promises may overwork the construction team -- ?but? said they'd work their hardest.
"We will do our best to keep abreast of the completion date set by our superiors," said Winson Chang (
Though not frowning at the deadline set by Yu, Chang was unmoved by the outpouring of congratulations at the ceremony.
"There is more to be done," he told the Taipei Times, as he thumbed through the staff lists and project papers in his hands.
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