Lawmakers at the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday censured the Ministry of Transportation and Communications for the delayed launch of the Airport Rail connecting Taipei and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Because of the delay in one of the nation’s most important public construction projects, the committee also rejected a proposal from the ministry to unfreeze the budget for Taoyuan International Airport Corp, the Directorate-General of Highways and other agencies, and ruled that the matter will be reviewed at another time.
The ministry originally planned to open the Airport Rail section between Sanchong (三重) and Jhongli (中壢) in October this year. However, it announced on Wednesday that operations in this section would not be launched until the end of 2015 due to lengthy disputes between signaling system contractor Marubeni Corp and its subcontractor, which had only been resolved two months ago.
Former Bureau of High Speed Rail director-general Chu Shu (朱旭) resigned on Wednesday after assuming responsibility for the delay.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) was the target of criticism in yesterday’s question-and-answer session.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) said the contractor already knew that the government, under the circumstances, cannot do anything about the Airport Rail’s delayed launch. Since the public has been complaining about the ministry’s ability to execute the nation’s public construction projects, Lee said that Yeh should also consider stepping down and assuming responsibility for the delay.
DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) accused the minister of hiding the Airport Rail construction situation from the public, adding that the minister should apologize to the committee as well as to the public. She also asked the ministry to start fining Marubeni and seek compensation for any financial losses accrued because of the Airport Rail’s delayed launch.
Yeh Kuang-shih emphasized that he had questioned why Marubeni, who only had experience in building railway tracks, could secure the contract for the Airport Rail’s signaling system. He said he had also questioned why the government decided to choose the lowest tender rather than the most advantageous tender in the bid for such a big contract.
Even though prosecutors had investigated controversies over the bidding for the signaling system, the case was closed as the investigators could not find anything illegal, he added.
In the meantime, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Jack Hsu (許俊逸) has been assigned to oversee the operation of the Bureau of High Speed Rail, he said.
“We will thoroughly investigate the case, including how the bidding was designed from the start,” Yeh Kuang-shih said.
“We will then submit all the information to the prosecutors for further investigation. We will not tolerate any illegality in this matter,” he added.
He said that he aims to amend the system regulating the quality of the nation’s public construction projects during his term as minister to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
He said he is confident that the Airport Rail would be launched by the revised deadline, adding that the ministry would start planning the shuttle bus routes leading to the Airport Rail stations during this period of time.
Separately yesterday, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said during the weekly Cabinet meeting that the delay in the launch of the Airport Rail has hampered the development of the country, and eroded public confidence and trust in the government.
Each and every government agency has to draw a lesson from this case and do its best to avoid making the same mistake — one that would have a negative impact on people’s lives and damage the government’s image, Jiang said.
Jiang suggested that Cabinet members establish a task force to supervise the status of major construction projects being undertaken by their subordinate agencies every two months, as he has done when he was minister of the interior.
All government agencies should set their construction plans in motion with the aim of completing projects earlier and stimulating economic growth, he said.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS