A cross-party legislative panel yesterday called on the state-run China Shipbuilding Corp (CSC) to crack down on employees linked to sloppy construction work at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
Four members of the committee that is probing alleged corruption by fellow lawmakers undertook another fact-finding trip yesterday to the embattled company's headquarters in Kaohsiung.
China Shipbuilding is in charge of building the power plant's reactor pedestal, in which experts have found serious construction flaws.
Sisy Chen (陳文茜), an independent lawmaker and member of the ad-hoc panel, said the panel had to ask China Shipbuilding to supply more documents for their investigation, as the documents previously provided are of little use.
Chen, along with colleagues Lin Kuo-hua (林國華) of the DPP, Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) of the KMT and Huang Chung-yung (黃宗源) from the TSU, had a closed-door conversation with CSC Chairman Hsu Chiang (徐強).
In mid-June, TSU Legislator Su Ying-kwei (蘇盈貴) claimed that certain DPP lawmakers were involved in the scandal. Su said he could back up his charges with evidence contained in CSC documents.
Hsu, who took over the helm of the CSC on July 1, admitted that the firm is in need of sweeping reforms.
He added that the company's employees demonstrate a lack of competence in areas such as bidding, pricing, writing contracts and executing contractual obligations.
Chen urged Hsu to beef up efforts to weed out negligent officials, saying that the resignations of the CSC's former chairman and general manager was not enough.
The legislature set up a panel to look into the matter after three DPP lawmakers, Liang Mu-yang (
Chen said she hoped the new CSC chief would track down crooked employees and turn them over to law enforcement officers.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
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