Officials with the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA,
On Friday, Japan-based Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (
Yesterday, PFP legislator Hsieh Chang-chieh (
"Why does the EPA open a door to an unwelcome client? Does it mean the company can still do business in Taiwan despite having been blacklisted?" Hsieh told the Taipei Times.
The one-year right suspension of the Japanese firm, Hsieh said, was issued by the commission following the company's unsatisfactory performance in building LNG storage tanks for the Chinese Petroleum Corp (
Hsieh said EPA head Hau Ling-bin (
Hsieh said that he suspects the Japanese company would follow the model of working with the EPA to bid on other profitable construction projects in Taiwan, including the NT$1.8 billion Tatan Power Plant (大潭電廠) project under the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Hsieh said that the company is not afraid to challenge Taiwanese laws because of its good relations with high-level officials and influential political figures.
"The EPA's behavior has obviously damaged the dignity of Taiwan's laws and national interests," Hsieh said, adding that at least five local companies are capable of completing the task.
Hau yesterday stressed that the contract was awarded based on cost-effectiveness, professional performance and public interest.
"Neither I nor any of us [EPA officials] have personal relations with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and our integrity can be tested by investigative agencies," Hau said.
Hau said the Public Construction Commission wrote the EPA on Feb. 6, saying that the agency can make its decision independently in case of emergency.
Officials said solving waste-management problems in Ilan County is an urgent matter. The county generates 500 tonnes of waste per day but only relies on landfills.
The incinerator project has been delayed for five years. As early as 1997, a Taiwanese company contracting with Germany-based Stein-muller won the bid at the lower price of NT$ 2.08 billion. But the Taiwanese company had to stop work on the project when it went bankrupt.
EPA officials said that since last July the only company in the game, Taiwan-based CTCI Corp (
Hau said that doing business with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rather than CTCI would save taxpayers NT$300 million.
"The bidding absolutely conforms to national interests and Ilan residents' interests," Hau said.
Environment officials said that a bidding meeting was once interrupted by a male assistant from Hsieh's office, but Hsieh dismisses the charge.
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
Air and rail traffic around Taiwan were disrupted today while power cuts occurred across the country as Typhoon Kong-rey, predicted to make landfall in eastern Taiwan this afternoon, continued edging closer to the country. A total of 241 passenger and cargo flights departing from or arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport were canceled today due to the typhoon, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. As of 9:30am, 109 inbound flights, 103 outbound flights and 29 cargo flights had been canceled, the company said. Taiwan Railway Corp also canceled all express trains on its Western Trunk Line, Eastern Trunk Line, South-Link Line and attached branches
Typhoon Kong-rey is forecast to make landfall in eastern Taiwan this afternoon and would move out to sea sometime overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 9am today, Kong-rey's outer rim was covering most of Taiwan except for the north. The storm's center was 110km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost tip, and moving northwest at 28kph. It was carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of 184kph, and gusts of up to 227kph, the CWA said. At a news conference this morning, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said Kong-rey is moving "extremely fast," and is expected to make landfall between
RSS