Declining to comment on allegations that the city government knew about the overpricing of the Xinsheng Overpass construction project two years ago, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday promised that would be looked into and that there would be “no limits” to the investigation.
Hau promised to conclude the investigation in two weeks and make public the results.
On Friday, Hau set up a task force headed by him to find out if any corruption or bribery was involved in the purchase plans for the overpass and the Taipei International Flora Expo.
PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The latest findings showed that in addition to the flowers and plants for the overpass, the contractor also overcharged for at least seven other purchase plans. As a result, the city government paid up to 12 times the market price for project materials. The initial investigation also showed that the civil servants who handled the project were seriously negligent.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) City Councilor Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) further raised eyebrows when he on Saturday alleged that the city government was made aware of the overpricing when city auditors pointed out the problems in May 2008. The auditing team was led by City Secretariat Director Yang Hsi-an (楊錫安) who is a member of the new task force established by Hau.
The controversy comes at a sensitive time for Hau, of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), who is seeking re-election in the Nov. 27 Taipei mayoral election.
KMT Sinbei City candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫), who has appeared at numerous joint election events with Hau over the past three months, yesterday appeared to distance himself from Hau.
He told the press that he would “continue to encourage himself to work harder” when asked whether he believed the episode would impact his own election prospects in Sinbei City.
“I believe that … every single person on the Taipei City municipal team needs to have their screws tightened,” Chu said, adding “this incident is the tip of the iceberg and [they] should use this chance to thoroughly fix some problems.”
Chu’s comments reflect a growing sense of unease by the KMT that the episode could impact not only Hau’s own support in Taipei City, but extend to Chu’s in Sinbei City. Chu is currently battling head-to-head with Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Chu and Hau have recently promised increased integration and cooperation between Taipei and Sinbei cities, if elected, including launching joint bids for international events such as the East Asian Games in 2017 and the Asian Games in 2019.
“It further shows that this so-called cooperation is only an election trick,” said Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), a spokesperson for Tsai’s campaign. “Chu’s first impulse after this affair was to cut and run.”
Cheng said that as an issue that involves the misuse of taxpayer money, the public was watching closely to see how the government resolved the problem, not just in Taipei City, but all over Taiwan.
“It’s not simply a local issue anymore, it’s a national one and we believe how the KMT handles this will impact [Chu’s] election chances in Sinbei City,” he said.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
RSS