Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday expressed doubt that former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) knew nothing about the corruption of two former Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) officials in the MeHAS City development, saying that if Hau had no knowledge of the pair’s offenses, he “might as well be dead.”
Ko made the remarks in an afternoon interview on Super FM, when radio show host Cheng Hung-yi (鄭弘儀) asked his opinion on the case.
The court last month gave former DORTS development branch director Kao Chia-nung (高嘉濃) a 10-year prison sentence and former DORTS section chief Wang Ming-tsang (王銘藏) a four-year sentence for influence peddling over the MeHAS City project.
Photo: CNA
The development — carried out between 2007 and 2012 by Radium Life Tech Co (日勝生) in conjunction with DORTS — encompasses 9.3 hectares of homes, offices and stores in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) next to the Xiaobitan MRT station.
The court said Hau was not convicted since he “was deceived into believing” forged numbers embedded by the pair in a property valuation, which cost the Taipei City Government an estimated NT$590 (US$17.52 million).
No bribes were found to have been distributed in the case, but no one from Hau’s administration stepped in to stop the the malpractice either, Ko said.
“What audacity this director and division chief had. Is it possible? You just think about it,” Ko said.
When asked whether he believed Hau had been unaware of the corruption, Ko, responding in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) ,said: “Give me a break. If that is true, [Hau] might as well be dead.”
The two former officials would be “two wretches nestling on a cold shoulder” if they voluntarily undervalued the city government’s claim in the development project without anyone in Hau’s administration taking bribes or putting pressure on them, Ko added.
Later yesterday in response to media queries on whether he would worry about being deceived by his subordinates given that Taipei City Councilor Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) last week accused his adviser and close aide Hung Chi-kune (洪智坤) of bribe-taking, Ko said he has ordered the city’s Department of Government Ethics to investigate the allegation.
Wang alleged that Hung took an eight-figure bribe from Farglory Group (遠雄集團) in exchange for resolving issues surrounding the controversial Taipei Dome project.
Regarding the possibility of his criticism hurting Hau’s chances of winning the legislative race in Keelung, Ko said his use of the Hoklo expression could have exaggerated his meaning.
He said his remark would not affect Hau’s campaign too much, as he is not running in Taipei.
He refused to apologize to Hau.
“If he does not know how to respect others, he should respect his position as Taipei mayor,” Hau said after hearing of Ko’s remarks.
Ko’s remark was aimed at manipulating the elections and he and his attorney would consider filing a lawsuit against him, Hau added.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
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
RSS