The China Aviation Development Foundation's (CADF,
"I will not cover up anyone's mistakes, but neither can I say that the foundation made an illegal decision. We will do what we have to do according to the law," Su said in answer to a question posed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Joanna Lei (
The Taipei District Court said in January that the sudden change in CADF's organizational rules violated the administrative rule and thus overruled its decision to invest in THSRC.
CADF's secretary-general Lai Tsai-sheng (
He said, however, the foundation decided to purchase the share within five days, which fulfills the requirement stated in the foundation's organization rules.
"The deal does not break any law," Lai said.
Su yesterday said that since THSR construction is a major national construction project, the government will continue to support this project.
In response to People First Party (PFP) Legislator Chung Shao-ho's (
"I think [the investment] was correct as it can help CADF make profits in the future. Also, if CADF did not make the investment, the government might have to spend NT$30 million (US$924,214) [to buy back the construction]," Kuo said.
The Taipei District Court's ruling on the CADF case prompted the KMT and PFP caucuses to hold a joint press conference to lash out at the government's action.
KMT caucus whip Pan Wei-kang (
"The amount included NT$4.5 billion from CADF and bank loans of NT$13.5 billion by the THSRC," Pan said.
PFP caucus whip Lee Hung-chun (
Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) also criticized the government for letting itself be manipulated by the THSRC.
"The initial BOT contract stated that the government didn't have to spend anything on the project. But now 70 percent of the corporation's capital was funded by the government, and it seemed that this big business has controlled the government," he said.
In other developments, the MOTC last night announced that the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Kuo as the new CADF chairman.
MOTC Vice Minister Oliver Yu (
Yu also disclosed that the board would propose changes to the organization rules for the board meetings, which dictated that the foundation inform the board members about the meeting at least 10 days before it begins.
The word "10 days" will be erased, he said, as the board has problems meeting this requirement.
The board meeting will also talk about changes that would allow the foundation to invest in other government projects.
Meanwhile, former premier Frank Hsieh (
"It is beyond me as to why MOTC did not appeal," Hsieh said.
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