The contractor for Taipei City’s Xinsheng Overpass reconstruction project, Join Engineering Consultants, yesterday said that the city government is to blame for the overpriced flowers used at the bridge site, and added that the prices in the flower purchase plan were finalized by the city government.
In a written statement, the company said it followed the required procedures, including price comparison and unit price analysis, before listing the total budget of the project, which was over NT$1.3 billion (US$ 40 million), and the budget plan underwent city government review and approval procedures.
The company admitted drafting the flower purchase plans and several other purchase plans, but argued that due to the lack of construction companies bidding for the project amid the global financial crisis in 2007, the city government instructed the company to raise the unit price in the purchase plans to facilitate bidding and start the reconstruction as soon as possible.
“We expressed our doubts about the price change in the budget, but we followed the city government’s instructions because the bridge needed work to ensure its safety,” the company said.
The contractor’s statement contradicted the city government’s argument, which accused the company of failing to go through price comparison procedures before making purchase plans.
As a result, said the city government, it paid several times the market price for flowers and other project materials.
The company protested against what it described as “strong interference” by the city government when drawing up the budget, and threatened to take legal action against the city government if it continued to damage the company’s reputation.
In response, the city government yesterday slammed the company for groundless accusations. It insisted the company failed to carry out a price comparison before compiling the budget, and said the city government already sent the case to the prosecutors for further investigation.
“The company rejected the city government task force’s request for a visit on Aug. 25 to clarify the issues, and we regret that it decided to issue a statement against us,” the city government said in a written statement, while reiterating its promise to take action against any officials found to have taken bribes from the contractor.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS