The Taipei City Government will not accept threats from corporations, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday after Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團) stopped construction of the Syntrend Creative Park (三創園區).
“I strongly disagree with spending millions in advertisements to send a message to the city government,” Ko said. “The city government will not take threats from corporations.”
Hon Hai yesterday took out a half-page ad on the front pages of six major Chinese-language newspapers, following claims by Taipei city councilors that the NT$1 billion (US$32 million) 50-year lease the firm is set to pay for the site was too low.
Photo: CNA
In the ad, the firm said that the reasonableness and legality of its bid would “withstand any test,” calling on the city government to publicize all documentation related to the bidding process within 48 hours. It also announced that construction at the site would cease until the city government determines the legality of the bidding process.
Hon Hai’s ad follows controversy caused by several Taipei development projects which were outsourced to private contractors under previous administrations, with Ko promising to re-examine unreasonable contract terms.
”How could the corporation be so completely arrogant?” asked Ko rhetorically in response to the firm’s ad, adding that the corporation had acted as if “the country is controlled by corporations.”
“How could a corporation use this tone to speak to the government,” he said, adding that the city government would investigate the case at its own pace, while taking legal measures if the firm ceases construction.
“There’s no way all the documents can be publicized in 48 hours,” Taipei City Government Department of Finance Commissioner Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) said, adding that the documents would have to be checked to ensure that no corporate secrets were released.
He added that all related documentation would be sent to the Clean Government Commission for evaluation when it has been established.
Ko said yesterday that the Clean Government Commission would be established this week, with specific details due to be announced today.
“As we’ve been in the process of dealing with the aftermath [of the previous administration], we’ve uncovered many problems, but we’re still unclear as to the cause,” Ko said, in response to questions over whether he was seeking to speed up the investigation into possible corruption cases.
The commission was originally due to be established in March.
The Syntrend Creative Park is being constructed next to the Guanghua Digital Plaza (光華數位新天地) and was billed by the previous administration as a way to turn the electronics district into a “shopping heaven,” which would surpass Tokyo’s Akihabara District.
With construction on the main building already completed, the firm’s announcement will mainly effect construction of a skybridge to the neighboring plaza.
The city government required Syntrend to construct a skybridge following concerns that the new development would drain customers from the neighboring plaza.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
RSS