Vice minister accused of graft

Lawmakers and representatives of a school in central Taiwan that was struck by the 921 earthquake yesterday accused Vice Minister of Education Fan Sun-lu (范巽綠) of seeking personal gain by coercing damaged schools into accepting reconstruction projects chosen by the ministry.

KMT lawmaker Yang Wen-hsin (楊文欣) said several lawmakers had informed Minister of Education Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗) of the seriousness of the situation, but the minister responded by saying that he was not in a position to intervene as Fan was overseeing the project. "Fan is the one who is in full charge of [the reconstruction projects]. I really don't have much of a say in the matter," Yang quoted Tzeng as saying.

Tzeng, who is on an overseas trip, was not available yesterday for comment.

Fan and her husband, Chang Fu-chung (張富忠), have been accused of influencing the reconstruction project at the Tungshi Vocational High School (東勢高工) in Taichung County by arranging for architects and construction companies with which they have personal ties to participate in the project, according to the lawmaker.

Filing their complaints at the Control Yuan, the country's supreme watchdog body, school representatives said yesterday that the school originally planned to carry out the reconstruction on its own, but the education ministry sent a last-minute notice to the school, saying it would take over the project.

Moreover, without consulting the school, the ministry reorganized the 11-person committee set up by the school -- which is comprised of four representatives from the school, four construction specialists and three education ministry officials -- to select the architects and construction firms, said Lee Ping-feng (李炳豐), director of the school's parents association.

"The ministry's decision was made rather recklessly, and disregarded the general opinions forged by the school committee's 33 meetings," Lee said.

Petitioners called on the Control Yuan and justice ministry and the judiciary to take immediate investigative action and crack down on any misconduct by public officials.

In response to the accusations, Fan claimed that the adjustments to the reconstruction committee were made out of "professional considerations."

The vice minister said that she was concerned that the school's committee would be incapable of fulfilling the immense task since only four of its 11 members were construction industry professionals. The ministry therefore added two more specialists to the group and reduced the membership of the committee to nine to minimize interference by local forces and formulate a more efficient team, Fan said.

Fan, who is known for her heavy-handedness, ascribed the attacks against her to her stern action in "challenging the interests of local groups."

"Given that the education ministry is confronting the interests of local groups, it is only natural that they are fighting back. The more the ministry demonstrates its concern, the more worries it has," Fan said, referring to the reconstruction project that will cost NT$860 million.

Fan, meanwhile, brushed aside allegations that she was reaping financial benefit from the project.

"My husband and I have absolutely no connections within construction circles whatsoever. I hope those accusing me [of improper conduct] will present their evidence, otherwise, I will resort to legal action."