Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that he would order the police to stop Taipei Dome contractor Farglory Group (遠雄集團) if the company arbitrarily tries to resume work on the shuttered facility.
Farglory must deliver a work plan to the city government before it carries out reinforcements at the site to resolve safety issues, Ko said in an interview.
The Taipei High Administrative Court last month ruled that the work suspension order from the city on the Dome be lifted so that the firm can address safety concerns about the construction.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Asked by reporters about the possibility of Farglory skipping proper procedures and arbitrarily resuming construction, Ko said that he would send police to deal with the firm.
“Everything should proceed according to the law,” Ko said.
“Taiwan is a country built on the rule of law,” he said. “Corporations have strong political and business ties, but they had better not be so cocky as to do whatever they desire. Farglory had better show temperance.”
The city is disputing the ruling because it did not mandate that Farglory propose a work plan before resuming operations, Ko said, adding that the court should have a chance to clarify the issue.
In related news, Farglory Group chairman Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄) held a “Ghost Month” ceremony at the Dome site to mark the resumption of work and seek good fortune for the project.
“Although the Taipei City Government has caused Farglory trouble by suspending construction, I would still like to pray with a devout heart that everything will end well,” Chao said as he led about 100 Farglory executives, employees and subcontractors in offering incense to wandering spirits as part of Taoist traditions.
Chao said that Farglory would begin addressing areas of corrosion in the structure and buoyancy created by elevated groundwater levels, which the court believes to have compromised the integrity of the Dome’s structure.
Asked how Farglory intends to respond if Ko were to call the police, Chao said that he would respect Ko’s decision, but that the firm would carry out the work nonetheless.
Chao said a party “hidden in the shadows” has been attempting to take over the project since 2004.
Without naming names, the party has attempted to acquire the Dome complex at 20 percent of the construction cost, even though Farglory has finished about 80 percent of the project, he said.
He said that the party has been in close contact with Farglory and the city government.
Saying that the unnamed party is the “other major force” in the Dome project besides the city and Farglory, Chao said his firm would incur a significant amount of damage if the party worked in concert with city authorities.
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