What the recent disputes between Farglory Land Development Co (遠雄建設) and the Taipei City Government have exposed is not only the issue of safety, but also the complicated — and suspicious — connections between politicians and businesses.
Recently, Taipei and Farglory began exchanging verbal barbs over the Taipei Dome project being built by Farglory under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract.
On the surface, the debate centers on safety. According to a Taipei City Government simulation, it could take more than one hour to evacuate 140,000 people — the combined maximum capacity of the venue and the surrounding shopping centers — in case of an emergency.
Farglory responded by criticizing the city government’s results as problematic, arguing that, according to its own simulation, it would take only 27 minutes to evacuate 140,000 people and 10 minutes to evacuate 120,000 — in compliance with all legal requirements.
However, aside from the safety issues, the ostensibly suspicious relationships between politicians — namely President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) — and Farglory might need more public attention.
According to documents, video clips and voice recordings that have been revealed so far, top city officials serving in the city government when Ma was mayor seemed eager to defend Farglory’s interests over those of the city government during meetings behind closed doors.
Furthermore, the contract signed between the developer and the city government is also suspicious. According to the contract, Farglory is to “help” the city build and operate the Taipei Dome — and the attached commercial structures — for 50 years, before returning the complex to the city government.
What use will the buildings be in 50 years? When the city government takes back control of the complex, all it will be able to do is demolish it and build something else on the site. Moreover, according to the contract, the city government can get the rights to operate the complex earlier, but only if Farglory is losing money.
It does not take a rocket scientist to see that there is something fishy about the arrangement. Imagine the city government suddenly realizes that it needs a large sporting venue in the middle of the city. It asks a private entity to build it, gets everything prepared for the firm and allows it to operate for 50 years. If the company is not turning a profit, the city is willing to step in and take back control of the complex. On top of all that, city officials defend the interests of the company when questions are raised during meetings about the project.
This is not the first fishy project related to the city government while Ma was mayor. In 2002, the Taipei City Government decided to allow Fubon Bank, a private entity, to merge with Taipei City Bank, which was funded by the city, had more capital and generated more profit than Fubon Bank, to form Taipei Fubon Bank.
While many at the time questioned the decision, it was later discovered that, prior to consenting to the merger, then-mayor Ma had been invited to a private guest house owned by then-Fubon chairman Tsai Ming-chung (蔡明忠) on several occasions. Although Ma denied involvement in any irregularities, he admitted that he had attended banquets at the guest house and apologized.
Besides the issue of safety at the Taipei Dome, the public and the judiciary should pay more attention to suspicious relationships between officials and businesses. The problems they engender might not only lead to the demolition of the sports venue, but also the entire government.
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