Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday denied that he was trying to distance himself from his predecessor, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), over the problem-plagued Wenshan-Neihu MRT line, emphasizing that he would assume responsibility for any problems.
“I keep emphasizing that it is the duty of the incumbent mayor to deliver a safe MRT system to residents,” he said. “I will take full responsibility.”
Hau made the remarks in response to questions about comments he made on Wednesday that the multiple shutdowns on the Wenshan-Neihu line resulted from the design of the network system.
PHOTO: CNA
As the system was approved during Ma’s stint as Taipei mayor, Hau’s comment was interpreted as an attempt to distance himself from Ma.
Hau made the statement on Wednesday after he was questioned by the Control Yuan over the problem-plagued line. The government watchdog said they did not rule out questioning Ma on how his city government had arranged the integration of the Muzha line and new Neihu line systems.
Hau’s colleague, Taipei City Councilor Yang Shih-chiu (楊實秋) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), however, was not impressed with Hau’s answer.
“If he gives the public the impression that he is trying to distance himself [from Ma], frankly speaking, it will lead to misunderstanding,” he said.
Yang has announced a bid to run in next year’s mayoral election. He has accused Hau of distancing himself from Ma and adopting a campaign strategy of attacking Ma to boost his own popularity.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Lee Wen-ying (李文英) yesterday requested the Control Yuan launch an inquiry into the Wenshan-Neihu line.
She brought six boxes containing 6,000 system maintenance sheets to demonstrate that the source of the problems ranges from the trains to the communication system, lights, electricity supply, track and platform doors.
Lee said frequent problems had affected the line between April and last month, at an average of 30 a day.
She said she hoped the Control Yuan would launch an investigation into the matter and let the public know exactly what had been going wrong.
In addition to the Wenshan-Neihu line, the Maokong Gondola, which has been closed for safety reasons for more than a year, the city’s outstanding health insurance fees and the Taipei Dome planned for the site of the former Songshan Tobacco Factory are among the troubles Hau has inherited from Ma.
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