The highly criticized contract for Syntrend Creative Park (三創園區) was reciprocation for an alleged NT$300 million (US$9.58 million) donation made by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) to former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) administration, some city councilors said yesterday.
Both Hau and Hon Hai backed up a statement by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) on Monday that Gou contributed NT$300 million to the city government for the Taipei Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, rejecting Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) suggestion during a TV interview earlier this year that the tycoon donated the money to Ko’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rival Sean Lien (連勝文) in the Taipei mayoral election in November last year.
Yesterday, at the first meeting of the Taipei City Council since Ko, an independent, assumed the mayoralty in December last year, Ko and other city government officials were questioned about the donation at a question-and-answer session, at which they were unable to provide any solid information.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Taipei Department of Information and Tourism Commissioner Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏) said all she had seen was a press release about the signing of a memorandum on the Taipei Pavilion between Hau and Hon Hai on June 22, 2008, in which Gou said the cost of the project was estimated to be about NT$300 million.
“There was no document about the memorandum kept in the department,” Chien said, referring DPP Taipei City Councilor Tung Chung-yan (童仲彥) to the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission.
Tung did not call on the commission’s chairman, Chen Ming-shiun (陳銘薰).
Tung said that Andy Chen (陳慶安), a city government adviser, knew the ins and outs of the project, but withheld information from Ko, adding that Andy Chen’s appointment as Taipei Pavilion director was agreed Upon by Gou and Hau.
Andy Chen dismissed the accusation, saying that he had no knowledge of the case.
Through the NT$300 million donation, Gou not only decided on the selection of city government officials for the Taipei pavilion, but also helped his son, Syntrend chairman Gou Shou-cheng (郭守正), secure the build-operate-transfer project, Tung said.
The Hau administration was “hijacked” by Hon Hai and forced to sign a contract with Syntrend that best serves the interests of the operator, as it stipulates that just the six floors of underground parking are under the jurisdiction of the Taipei City Government, as opposed to the 12 floors above ground, DPP Taipei City Councilor Chang Mao-nan (張茂楠) said, adding that it was to “the city government’s shame.”
Ko said he failed to understand why there were no detailed records kept of the donation and how it was spent, if a donation was actually even made to the city government.
“Bringing openness and transparency to the government is a must,” Ko said.
After Ker made the statement earlier on Monday, Hau said on Facebook that Hon Hai directly funded the construction of the Taipei Pavilion and that the funds did not pass through the city government’s accounts.
The session marked the first time Ko took questions from city councilors. Its start was delayed by two hours, as KMT city councilors were unhappy with a written policy report by Ko that left out the five major projects being investigated by the city’s Clean Government Commission and demanded that Ko take the copies back.
Additional reporting by Tsai Ya-hua and Yu Yuan-chien
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