DPP wants Mayor Ma to explain Taipei land deals

DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung holds a sign that reads, ``No special treatment? Throw a fit!'' during a press conference yesterday. The sign refers to a recent squabble between Taipei City councilors and Taiwanese envoys at a Tokyo airport. PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members demanded an explanation from Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday on the city government's land swap deal with businessman Yu Shih-yi (游世一). They want to know whether the deal worked out in Yu's favor.

The call came in the wake of similar allegations against former Kaohsiung mayor and premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), now the DPP's candidate for the year-end Taipei mayoral election.

"We have to use the same standard to measure politicians. Now that Hsieh has been referred for judicial investigation over the Kaohsiung City Government's land swap deals with Yu when Hsieh was Kaohsiung mayor, Ma should be investigated as well," DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) told a press conference held jointly with DPP City Councilor Lee Wen-ying (李文英).

Hsieh was accused of swapping some city government-owned commercially zoned land around the Hanshin Department Store for a less valuable parcel of land owned by Yu, the Kuan-Pin Co general manager who is a main suspect in the Taiwan Development Corp insider trading scandal.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office has been investigating the allegation against Hsieh, who issued a statement on Tuesday denying any wrongdoing.

Hsu said Yu was also involved in land swap deals with Taipei.

"Among Taipei City Government's 11 land swap deals, five were made with Yu. The current value of the five pieces of land amounts to NT$64 million," he said.

Liu Hsiu-ling (劉秀玲), an official with Taipei's Department of Urban Development, said that the city's land swap deal satisfied all legal requirements.