A sightseeing activity was carried out by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to six massive sludge digestion tanks outside a sewage treatment plant in Pali, Taipei County, yesterday to illustrate the effects of "black-gold" culture.
A skit was performed by DPP staffers and volunteers in front of the expensive plant, construction of which was started in 1992 amid a controversy about the discovery of a historical iron-smelting site on the proposed area covering 45 hectares of land in Pali.
According to DPP staffers, the plant could be the largest landmark symbolizing black-gold politics involving the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). The plant's digestion tanks cost only NT$1.7 million but NT$4.8 billion of taxpayers' money was spent on the project, according to the DPP. Then-KMT legislator Wu Tzer-yuan (伍澤元) was accused by the DPP of reapportioning the budget when he headed the Taiwan Provincial Government (台灣省住都局), which was in charge of sewage treatment.
A performer playing the role of Wu, thanked two others performers playing the roles of KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) because "a black-gold miracle was jointly created."
DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
"Wu was prosecuted not only because of this case but also because of another one surrounding a pumping station. He had no choice but to flee to China," Lee said.
The sewage-treatment plant was built by the Taipei City Government to solve pollution problems in the Tamshui River. The first phase of the Great Taipei sewage treatment project cost NT$10.2 million. It was designed to treat about 1.3 million tonnes of sewage a day from Taipei City, Taipei County and Keelung City. The trial was conducted in January 2000, but an official operation was suspended in June, 2001 because the Taipei County Government owned NT$228 million in operating fees.
In response PFP Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said that the suspension of the plant could be attributed to Taipei County Government, which is reluctant to complete the construction of new sewage pipes.
"How can we have all sewage sent to the plant for further treatment?" Lee Hung-chun said.
Yesterday in Keelung, the DPP also accused the pan-blue camp of involvement in black-gold politics. In front of Keelung Train Station, another skit was played out by DPP supporters.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS