A number of Taipei city councilors yesterday accused the Farglory Group (遠雄集團), which is the contractor charged with building the Taipei Dome, of defying the Taipei City Government’s order to halt construction over safety concerns, prompting Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to call Farglory an “unscrupulous company” and order an on-site inspection of any possible violations.
At a city council question-and-answer session, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Wang Wei-chung (王威中) presented video footage he took of the construction site, which showed several workers apparently welding on the building’s roof and on beams of a nearby hotel, which Farglory has proposed should be connected to the Taipei Dome complex.
The number of metal sheets on the Taipei Dome’s exterior has also been increasing, Wang said, adding that he had received many reports from residents of Farglory continuing construction in a stealthy manner.
Wang asked Ko and Taipei Department of Urban Development Commissioner Lin Jou-min (林洲民) why construction had been resumed, despite a city government ordinance in May ordering the suspension of work at the site.
The company had only been allowed to complete work on the arena’s lightning protection system and its foundation, which had raised safety concerns over perceived damage it had caused to the Taipei MRT’s Bannan Line, Lin said, adding that the work under way in the footage resembled neither.
“This is what you call an ‘unscrupulous company.’ We will administer the strictest punishments allowable by law,” Ko said.
The mayor ordered the department to launch an inspection of the construction site yesterday afternoon.
When asked by Wang if Ko head campaign adviser Chang Ching-sen (張景森) had substituted deputy mayors Teng Chia-chi (鄧家基) and Charles Lin (林欽榮) in the city government’s negotiations with Farglory, Ko said that Chang had, but added: “At the end of the day, all negotiations went back to Teng and [Charles] Lin.
In response to questions whether others might have improperly carried out negotiations on behalf of the city, Ko said there have been “scam gangs” claiming to be city representatives that have profited from negotiations with the developer.
“There are all kinds of scam gangs. They are everywhere these days,” Ko said. “Some people have told me that the city government negotiated with them [Farglory] and took their money. This must mean that they have been scammed.”
“Farglory has been scammed. This is what I heard,” Ko said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS