The Control Yuan issued corrective measures against the Public Construction Commission (PCC) and the Taipei City Government yesterday in connection with the construction of the Taipei Dome Complex.
The complex will occupy about 18 hectares on the former site of the Song Shan Tobacco Factory in Xinyi District (信義).
It will feature an indoor 40,000-seat stadium, hotels, department stores, a shopping center and an office building.
Control Yuan member Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) told a press conference that the Public Construction Commission had infringed upon the authority of the Taipei City Government by annulling decisions about the construction made by a city review commission on three separate occasions.
The city government was forced to make major changes to its construction plan after its initial reviews were rejected by the commission, Huang said.
The city government itself, however, was charged with failing to refer the revised construction plan to its review commission for approval, a violation of the Act for Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects (促進民間參與公共建設法), Huang said.
Meanwhile, the Control Yuan also demanded the Sports Affairs Council standardize the criteria used in issuing swimming coach and lifeguard certificates to ensure the quality of the qualifications was standardized.
The council, which is the regulatory authority for swimming pool operators, was charged with dereliction of duty by the government watchdog for failing to establish specific measures to govern the certificates.
Control Yuan members Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) and Huang Wu-tzu (黃武次) investigated the issue and found that the certificates were issued by different agencies that didn’t follow the same standards.
“The Sports Affairs Council is required by the National Sports Act (國民體育法), passed in 2000, to promulgate standards for the certificates, but no such criteria has been established in the past nine years,” Cheng said.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,