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.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central