On the first anniversary of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors yesterday held him responsible for the inactive Maokong Gondola system, and accused his former Taipei City administration of engaging in corrupt practices.
The Maokong Gondola system, which has been suspended from service since Oct. 1 last year after mudslides eroded the ground beneath a support pillar, was one of Ma’s major projects when he was mayor of Taipei.
In January, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) announced that the problematic support pillar, also known as Tower No.16, would be relocated. He also reported 11 city government officials and two contracting companies to the Control Yuan and the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office for investigation into possible dereliction of duty.
DPP Taipei City councilors Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) and Chou Wei-you (周威佑) yesterday accused Ma and his municipal team of colluding with contractors to change the route of the gondola line, and fabricate geological reports on all 25 towers to speed up the construction so the project could be completed and become a municipal achievement for Ma.
“The whole structure of the gondola system is problematic. All of the 25 towers were built on shaky ground, but the former Ma administration allowed contractors to cut corners,” Hsu said during a press conference at the Taipei City Council.
Chou said that Tower No. 15 and almost all the other towers were built on unstable ground where the topsoil was fragile, and they could be damaged like Tower No. 16 in the event of heavy rains or a typhoon.
Hsu said Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien failed to launch an investigation into the possible corruption and administrative flaws of the involved officials and contractors.
In its latest issue yesterday, the Chinese-language weekly Next Magazine made the same accusations against Ma and members of his municipal administration who handled the construction, including former director of the Public Works Office Lee Shu-chuan (李四川).
In response, Hau yesterday said no city government officials were involved in corruption or embezzlement in the construction of the project, and last night the city government said they would file a lawsuit against the magazine for its false report.
Hau said the city government evaluated the 25 towers every week to ensure the safety and stability of each tower. The city government will seek to resume the service next year.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS