Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) spokesperson yesterday justified an alleged move by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to ask state banks to “cooperate with the great project” of the Taipei International Flora Expo.
KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) said it was quite “appropriate” and “normal” for the city to ask state-owned financial institutions to take the initiative and offer a helping hand as the city felt the flora expo would benefit the tourism and flower industries.
“That’s what a city government should do,” he said. “Compared with the controversial efforts of the former Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] to spend government money correcting the names of state-owned companies and joining international organizations, the city government’s initiative deserves more support from government institutions.”
PHOTO: CNA
Tsai made the remarks in response to media inquiries about the flora expo, which opens on Saturday.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported yesterday that all eight state banks had received a request by the Taipei City Government for a NT$2 million (US$66,000) sponsorship conveyed by the Ministry of Finance.
The report said the ministry denied it had asked state banks to donate money and that some state banks also denied receiving such a request from the ministry.
However, the report said the banks understood that the city government had inquired with state and private banks whether they would be interested in sponsoring the flora expo.
Responding to DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) who serves on the Finance Committee and characterized the flora expo as a “black hole,” a “bottomless pit” and an “insatiable beast,” Tsai said the expression “insatiable beast” was a better fit for the DPP, as former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), were both convicted of corruption.
“The description is so wrong,” he said. “I think the DPP is a jealous beast that does not want to see the event succeed.”
KMT Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰) urged the DPP to refrain from dooming Taiwan as the flora expo was the pride of the capital city and the Republic of China.
“The flora expo is the biggest international event Taiwan has ever hosted and the duration of the fair is longer than the World Games in Kaohsiung [last year] and the Taipei Deaflympics,” he said. “If condemning Taiwan is the only thing the DPP can do, I don’t know what else the people can expect from them.”
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