The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday hit back at accusations by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that a former DPP government official was profiting from sustainable energy projects, saying that at least eight former KMT government officials or senior KMT officials also sit on the boards of green energy companies.
These eight KMT members’ involvement in green energy businesses is estimated at more than NT$500 million (US$15.7 million), including earning a combined more than NT$100 million each year serving as board members, DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) said.
“KMT officials are disparaging green energy while profiting from green energy,” he said. “In the past few weeks, we have seen KMT and TPP [Taiwan People’s Party] members attacking Taiwan’s green energy development, while ignoring why the government is pushing the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable sources.”
Photo: CNA
Accusing the KMT and its presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), of double standards, Chang said they have been criticizing the DPP’s sustainable energy policy, “while many former KMT government officials sit on the boards of green energy companies, and some have even secured large government projects for wind farms and solar energy.”
Green energy has been a hot topic in recent weeks, with the KMT and the TPP attacking former DPP legislator and vice labor minister Lai Chin-lin (賴勁麟) for serving as chairman of the board of J&V Energy Technology (雲豹能源), accusing him of conflict of interest and using his “political connections” to help the company win tenders from Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), for energy storage and solar farm projects.
Lai on Monday resigned as J&V chairman.
Chang yesterday named eight former KMT government officials or senior party officials who are involved in green energy projects, including former vice premier Woody Duh (杜紫軍), currently convener of the Hou campaign’s national policy team, who serves on the board of Shinfox Energy (森崴能源) and is an independent director at major electrical cable and energy storage producer Walsin Lihwa Corp (華新麗華). KMT Deputy Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) also sits on the board of Walsin Lihwa.
KMT Central Standing Committee member Chen Tsung-hsing (陳宗興) is the chairman of Hung Hua Construction Co (宏華營造), as well as cofounder of Dong Fang Offshore Co (東方風能) and Taiwan Marine Heavy Industry (台灣海洋重工), which have secured several offshore wind farm projects for Taipower, Chang said.
Also on the list is Shih Yen-hsiang (施顏祥), a former minister of economic affairs who is an independent director for CTCI Corp (中鼎工程), Taiwan’s largest engineering project firm focusing on power plants, oil and petrochemical refineries.
Chang also cited Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠), a former deputy minister of economic affairs who is an independent director for Swancor Holding Co (上緯投控), a chemical producer that is also involved in green energy and offshore wind farms.
Hwang Jung-chiou (黃重球), a former Taipower chairman, is an independent director for Century Wind Power Co (世紀離岸風電), which has undertaken several offshore wind farm projects in central Taiwan’s coastal areas, Chang said.
Meanwhile, former National Development Council minister Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉), currently head of the KMT’s Mainland Affairs Department, is an independent director for Aimcore Technology Co (安可光電), a producer of display panels, optic devices and solar panels.
Tsai Hsun-hsiung (蔡勳雄), former head of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, is a board director at Co-Tech Development Corp (金居開發), a metal chemical products and solar panel producer, Chang said.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS