The Guggenheim funding dispute continued yesterday as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials and Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) exchanged fire over the Cabinet's refusal to prepare a budget this year for the proposed museum branch.
When it became apparent during the legislature's extra session earlier this week that the Executive Yuan had prepared NT$36.5 billion for two ongoing projects as part of the 10 major constructions package and that the museum had failed to be included owing to incomplete paperwork from Taichung, Hu attacked the central government for failing to prepare a budget for the museum.
Yesterday the central government and the DPP returned fire.
"The Executive Yuan gave the Taichung City Government an advance of NT$286.3 million on Jan. 20 this year for it to sign the contract with the museum and begin preparatory work. The city government should also know that the Council for Economic Planning and Development decided on Aug. 3 to arrange NT$2 billion for the museum," Cabinet Spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said yesterday.
Council Vice Chairman Chang Ching-sen (
Chang showed a government document which he said proved that the council had tentatively prepared NT$2 billion for the museum branch next year, adding that he had frequently spoken with Hu on the matter and that he had reassured Hu that the central government was determined to build the museum.
He said that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had also expressed his concern over the project.
"I have already explained to Mayor Hu that the Taichung City Cultural Affairs Bureau told us before that they could not complete the evaluation for an alternative plan [as required by law] before next June. If that was the case, then the Executive Yuan would not be able to prepare a budget for the museum even for next year," he said.
"But then Mayor Hu guaranteed that the evaluation would be completed by this month, and I told him that if that was the case, then the Executive Yuan would prepare a budget for the museum next year," Chang said.
Chang said that Hu already knew early last month that the budget for the museum would not be prepared this year, even though the Taichung City Government had already obtained funds from the central government for the contract.
"Hu hasn't spent a single dollar so far and he hasn't signed the contract either. The fact of the matter is that Taichung City is not lacking in funds for the museum," Chang said.
"I don't know why Mayor Hu is criticizing the central government now. Maybe there are reasons behind all of this which he's not happy to talk about," he said.
"Hu knows that the Guggenheim Museum has got in touch with Shanghai, and that the Guggenheim may end up deciding to go there instead of Taichung. Hu is afraid that he'll fail to deliver on his promise [to set up the museum], and now he is trying to shift the blame to the central government," said DPP Legislator Lee Ming-hsien (李明憲), who represents Taichung City.
Hu responded yesterday by saying that he did not know about the NT$2 billion grant for next year and that he could not guarantee that the museum would still be willing to cooperate with Tai-chung on the project come next year.
"The NT$286 million contract fund has to be returned to the central government since it is not included in the NT$5 billion grant promised by the Executive Yuan. Because I am concerned that the NT$5 billion grant may not be passed, I dare not sign the contract at present," Hu said.
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