Just as all Penghu County is united in the fight for zero confirmed COVID-19 cases amid the global pandemic, the Penghu County Government has announced a public tender for assembling the head of a Matsu statue, leading to renewed debate among residents and criticism from non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Critics say Penghu County Commissioner Lai Feng-wei’s (賴峰偉) administration is using the pandemic as an excuse to restart the Matsu project on Dacang Island (大倉島).
Nine years ago, then-Penghu county commissioner Wang Chien-fa (王乾發) decided to borrow a large sum of money to construct what was to be the world’s tallest Matsu statue.
His successor, former Penghu county commissioner Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復), halted the project, but Lai decided to restart it, triggering a signature drive by NGOs to try to get a referendum to oppose the completion of the project.
Lai in Penghu County Council meetings has referred to those opposed to restarting the project as “noise,” and says they can be ignored, but council has yet to review the budget for the project, delaying its progress.
To spend a large sum of money on a project as controversial as the assembly of the Matsu statue’s head, which was not even included in the budget, would raise questions and damage the county government’s credibility.
As Taiwanese society is working hard to keep the coronavirus pandemic at bay and address its impact on the economy, the county government has given no thought to strategies for alleviating the impact of the pandemic or reviving the economy once it is over.
Inexplicably, it instead wants to spend NT$4 million (US$134,219) on assembling the statue’s head, imperiously ignoring dissenting opinion and arbitrarily moving ahead with the construction project.
Why not use the money to help front-line health workers, and farmers and fishers affected by the epidemic?
Is the county government really hoping that building a Matsu statue would help protect Penghu from the pandemic?
In response to the outrage over the move to revive the project, the Penghu County Government has said that it would make “the most ideal decision.”
However, since the project was initiated in 2011, Penghu residents have repeatedly highlighted irregularities surrounding it, through petitions within established channels and demonstrations outside of them, to no avail.
Lai proposed reviving the project without providing a detailed plan, saying only that the statue should be built, while leaving the ecological destruction on Dacang in place.
He says he wants to “bring back the glory” to the county, but shows no sign of being prepared to listen to public opinion.
Over the past 10 years, members of the public have proposed several alternative solutions, offering the county government a variety of exit strategies, so it is not as if Lai has no way out.
When leaders are dealing with funds already squandered, they must be decisive and stop further losses, not compound mistakes with further bad decisions.
The county government should not talk about “the most ideal decision” when pushing such a controversial project at a time when all Taiwanese are working to keep COVID-19 at bay.
Doing so is the very opposite of “the most ideal decision.”
Sheng Yi-che is convener of 880 Youth.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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