A Control Yuan member yesterday described the construction of the Taiwan High Speed Rail as a “scandal” and vowed to probe the responsibility of government officials under the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration.
“The construction of the high speed rail system is not only a failed BOT [build-operate-transfer] case, it was fraud from the very beginning,” Control Yuan member Yeh Yao-peng (葉耀鵬) told reporters.
Yeh said the Control Yuan would focus on why the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp’s original shareholders were able to undertake a project whose cost exceeds the amount they had invested.
Yeh said a previous Control Yuan investigation showed that the five original shareholders only invested around NT$30 billion (US$926 million), but had undertaken construction projects worth around NT$82 billion.
The five original shareholders are Continental Engineering Corp, the Pacific Electric Wire & Cable Co, the Evergreen Group, Teco Electric & Machinery Co and the Fubon Group.
“We cannot let this go. We need to investigate if the government neglected its duty,” Yeh said.
Fielding questions from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Daniel Hwang (黃義交), Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said the government would leave the investigation to the Control Yuan and prosecutors.
Wu again rebutted media speculation that Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp chairwoman Nita Ing’s (殷琪) resignation, which was confirmed on Sunday, had anything to do with the visit of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama earlier this month.
“This speculation is ridiculous,” Wu said.
He said the company had sought the assistance of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications six months ago to become involved in managing the high speed rail.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said he had talked to Ing on five or six occasions about the company’s operations and that the talks would stand up to public scrutiny.
Also See: Ou Chin-der replaces Ing at THSRC
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS