Premier Su Tseng-chang (
"We will retrieve money if necessary and punish related officials if necessary, as well," Su said. "There is no question about that."
The premier made the remarks on the legislative floor yesterday when questioned by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Fai (
Fai questioned Su about the Taipei Administrative High Court's decision last week that the process for selecting contractors for the ETC system was improper, saying that the contract between the government and the contractor -- Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Corp -- could be reviewed if necessary.
As for a NT$4.5 billion (US$138 million) investment from the China Aviation Development Foundation in the THSRC, the court decided that this investment is not "appropriate."
Fai asked Su whether the government will retrieve the NT$4.5 billion and suspend the investment.
The premier said he will do what he is supposed to do as a premier.
"I am a premier, not an enforcer. As a result, I only decide the direction that the government will go in, instead of enforcing laws or carrying out policies physically," Su said.
Su added that he has asked the Ministry of Justice to get involved in the investigation into the issues to determine whether any government officials or offices must take responsibility.
"If so, those who need to step down will step down, and the money which should be retrieved will be retrieved. It is as simple as that," he said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
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