Pointing out that the company in charge of marketing for the Taipei International Flora Expo is a subsidiary of United Daily News Group — which is considered to be pro-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — opposition lawmakers yesterday questioned whether there were irregularities behind the company’s winning of several Taipei and Taichung city government contracts.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said Min Sheng Cultural and Communication Co, which sparked controversies by supplying “made-in-China” souvenirs for the expo, is a member of the United Daily News Group, with all members on the board of directors and on the board of supervisors appointed by the newspaper.
In fact, the firm is not only in charge of marketing Taipei International Flora Expo merchandise, but is also the winning bidder of the also-controversial Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival, and several other Taipei City Government-sponsored events, Chen said.
Chen added that United Daily News Group is in charge of the selling Taipei International Flora Expo tickets and the promotion of the event, while Linking Books, another subsidiary of the United Daily News Group, is in charge of making an official record of the expo.
Saying that she does not believe United Daily News Group is so much better than its competitors, Chen questioned whether it was because of the group’s close relations with the KMT that companies in the group have won bids for events organized by KMT-controlled local governments.
She urged the government to explain why KMT-controlled local governments receive so much financial support from the central government so the can host large events, while many local governments in central and southern Taiwan are suffering financial hardship.
DPP Caucus Secretary-General Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) added that it seems the “era of favoritism” has returned, because pro-KMT United Daily News Group and Join Engineering Consultants are winning most bids for government-sponsored events.
Asked for comment, KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said that as long as the process is legal and legitimate, “everyone has the right to bid for government projects.”
“Which company wins the bid is not the point, the point is whether the process is in accordance with the law,” Lo said.
“Many companies and individuals with close ties to the DPP were more likely to win government bids when the DPP government was in power as well,” Lo added.
Taipei International Flora Expo spokeswoman Ma Chien-hui (馬千惠), meanwhile, denied there were any illegalities.
“We invited bids openly, and the process was transparent and fair,” she told the Taipei Times via telephone.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard