TSU wants explanation from China Steel chief

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislative caucus yesterday called on China Steel Corp chairman Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵) to shed some light on the causes of last month's riot by Thai workers in Kaohsiung.

China Steel has a 30 percent stake in the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC), which is building the city's subway system.

TSU Legislator Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) said that Lin should have played a more proactive role after the riot, to repay Premier Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) for KRTC getting the job. Lo said that KRTC won the tender even though another bidder had submitted a lower bid.

The central government is contributing NT$150 billion, or about 83 percent of the total amount, to the NT$181.3 billion build-operate-transfer (BOT) project. The Kaohsiung city and county governments are putting up NT$40 billion and KRTC has contributed NT$30.49 billion.

Despite such a modest investment, Lo said, KRTC not only gets to subcontract out the project, it has the right to run the system for the first 30 years.

"We'd like to see Lin offer an explanation of why KRTC deputy director Chen Min-hsien (陳敏賢) has such power over company operations, which led to the riot by Thai workers," Lo said.

He said Lin also owes the public an explanation for why KRTC chairman Chen Chen-rong (陳振榮) and general manager Fan Chen-po (范陳柏) have kept their jobs.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus has asked Presidential Advisor Chen Che-nan (陳哲男) to step down.

"He said that he would withdraw from the political arena if he was found to have been to Thailand," KMT caucus whip Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛) said. "Now it's time for him to make good on his promise, because he has admitted that he has been there twice."

Independent Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said he had information that Chen Che-nan visited Thailand three times in the company of foreign labor brokers. But Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said Chiu should either back up his allegations with actual evidence or stop spreading rumors.