As the investigation of the bribery scandal in the bidding process for the Taipei Twin Towers project continues, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday dismissed concerns about Taipei City Finance Department Commissioner Chiu Da-chan’s (邱大展) position in the project, and said the city government would not jump to conclusions before the final rulings are announced.
Prosecutors summoned Chiu on Wednesday on suspicion that he leaked information on the list of project review panel members to the developer helping it win the bid. He was released later the same day and returned to work at Taipei City Hall.
“We will not protect any civil servants that are found to have been involved in illegal acts. However, we must not rush to conclusions before the final ruling is announced. In the meantime, we need to protect innocent civil servants and safeguard their rights,” he said in response to media queries.
Chiu yesterday declined to comment on his alleged involvement in the scandal.
The developer, a multinational consortium led by Taipei Gateway International Development, lost its bid for the NT$70 billion (US$2.4 billion) project after it failed to provide a NT$1.89 billion performance bond by Feb. 21.
Taipei City councilors have accused Hau and city officials including Chiu of covering up for the developer, but the mayor has defended the bidding process, saying that it was conducted according to the highest standards and followed legal procedures.
The failed cooperation with the developer also resulted in the resignation of former head of Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems Richard Chen (陳椿亮).
In accordance with the bidding process, the city government is to start negotiating a contract with second-highest bidder, BES Engineering Corp, to proceed with the construction.
Hau said the city government would seek more information on the investigation, and if prosecutors conclude that the bidding process was flawed, negotiations with the second bidder may be delayed.
The project was initiated by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in 2004 when he was Taipei mayor and had suffered four failed bids prior to last year.
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The cosponsors of a new US sanctions package targeting Russia on Thursday briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation and said the legislation would also have a deterrent effect on China and curb its ambitions regarding Taiwan. The bill backed by US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal calls for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports — targeting nations such as China and India, which account for about 70 percent of Russia’s energy trade, the bankroll of much of its war effort. Graham and Blumenthal told The Associated Press
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