The Taipei City Government last night ordered Farglory Land Development Co (遠雄建設) to halt construction of the Taipei Dome, citing concerns about “ongoing damage” to the neighboring Songshan Tobacco Factory and a “threat” to the Taipei MRT Bannan (板南) Line, which runs next to the construction site.
The announcement came less than 10 hours after Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he felt “the company is too arrogant” and was considering ordering the firm to cease construction until it provides a clear explanation of how it plans to guarantee safety at the site.
Ko said he was “angry” and “could not stand” Farglory’s “insincere” attitude.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The company submitted only a single sheet of paper after being requested to provide a report on improving safety on Monday, even though abnormalities had been found on site since March.
“I feel [Farglory] is irresponsible, because it now says that construction on the foundations [of the Taipei Dome] would be drawn out until August,” Ko said.
The city government agreed to allow construction to continue when safety concerns first emerged on the grounds that the Taipei Dome would be structurally unstable until the foundations were completed.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
When asked if halting construction would be dangerous, Ko said that the firm had to provide a clear explanation of how it would address safety issues if construction was allowed to continue.
He added that the safety issues had to be addressed before any discussions took place on contractual issues.
Numerous media reports earlier yesterday said that the city government had reached a preliminary consensus with Farglory in talks on Tuesday between Farglory chairman Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄) and Taipei Deputy Mayor Teng Chia-chi (鄧家基).
The reports said Farglory and the city had agreed to set up a third-party commission to investigate safety at the venue, breaking a standoff over the validity of a city-sponsored probe that called for either the Dome or its neighboring shopping mall to be demolished.
Teng denied the existence of any consensus.
“The city government absolutely did not accept Farglory’s proposals for a third-party evaluation,” he said, adding that Taipei had instead invited Farglory to submit its own plans to improve site safety.
“Without substantial content [regarding improving site safety], calling for a third-party evaluation is simply equivocating,” Teng said.
Farglory also chose to stall on construction safety issues in the hopes that the issue would blow over by the time the site’s foundations were completed, he said, adding that the issue was separate from concerns over the safety of the completed site.
As construction risks could increase with time, Farglory was responsible for giving the city a clear response on the costs and benefits of continued construction, he said.
Ko also said that Chao “reeked of alcohol” when he came in for talks, but added that he himself had not met with Chao.
In a statement, Farglory rejected Ko’s alcohol comment and called on the city to name the person who had given the mayor “mistaken information.”
The firm said the comment was a “groundless accusation” bordering on slander and “public humiliation,” and that it would take legal measures in response.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it plans to revise the export control list for strategic high-tech products by adding 18 items under three categories — advanced 3D printing equipment, advanced semiconductor equipment and quantum computers — which would require local manufacturers to obtain licenses for their export. The ministry’s announcement yesterday came as the International Trade Administration issued a 60-day preview period for planned revisions to the Export Control List for Dual Use Items and Technology (軍商兩用貨品及技術出口管制清單) and the Common Military List (一般軍用貨品清單), which fall under regulations governing export destinations for strategic high-tech commodities and specific strategic high-tech commodities. The
RSS