An investigation should be launched into the appraisal process of all MRT joint development projects, members of Taipei City Government’s Clean Government Committee said yesterday as they announced the preliminary results of an investigation into the MeHAS City (美河市) and Syntrend Creative Park (三創園區) development projects.
Clean Government Committee member Hsu Chin-huang (徐嶔煌) said that the committee’s investigation had revealed why city-owned land had been undervalued in the appraisal process used to divide profits for the MeHAS City joint development project.
The city is in mediation with the site’s developer, Radium Life Tech Co (日勝生), seeking NT$7.6 billion (US$242 million) in compensation over alleged appraisal fraud.
Photo: Weng Yu-huang, Taipei Times
Hsu said that city land was undervalued because of illegal appraisal rules determined by the Department of Rapid Transportation Systems (DORTS), on whose land the project was constructed.
In estimating future land value, the department simply added bank interest to the appraised value of the land when project construction began, failing to take into account rapidly increasing real-estate prices, he said.
Because similar methodology was widely used by DORTS, a broader investigation into all other DORTS joint development projects should be undertaken, he said.
Committee member Wang Hsiao-yu (王小玉) called for the mediation process to be halted and project land returned to the site’s original owners, adding that she spoke only for herself because the committee’s final recommendations conclusions are still under discussion.
She also said the committee’s investigation had revealed that the main responsibility for the debacle lay with DORTS rather than former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌).
In response to the committee’s findings, Taipei City Councilor Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) repeated demands that the city government make public all documents on the division of profits for DORTS joint development projects.
She said the MeHAS case demonstrated that the department could easily abuse its discretion in such cases, adding that making the negotiation process transparent would help the city in its bargaining by subjecting contracting firms to the pressure of public opinion.
DORTS joint development division head Li Cheng-an (李政安) said that while the department’s past actions were legal, it would seek to move the date used for appraisal of land value as close as possible to the completion of construction to ensure profit-sharing more closely reflected market changes, adding that the department had also made its appraisal process more rigorous.
He added that releasing documents relating to ongoing profit-sharing negotiations would be unwise because it could weaken the city’s position if litigation ensued.
Meanwhile, Syntrend Creative Park subcommittee convener Ma Yi-kung (馬以工) said the commission’s probe had found the project to be ridden with procedural problems.
She said the site’s zoning was problematic, at it was registered as a “parking garage” in a technology district and that its “add-on” technology complex was far larger than the “main” parking garage used for official registration.
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
The US has revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) authorization to freely ship essential gear to its main Chinese chipmaking base, potentially curtailing its production capabilities at that older-generation facility. American officials recently informed TSMC of their decision to end the Taiwanese chipmaker’s so-called validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing site. The action mirrors steps the US took to revoke VEU designations for China facilities owned by Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. The waivers are set to expire in about four months. “TSMC has received notification from the US Government that our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing