Opposition legislators condemned Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday for blaming an accident at one of the city's mass rapid transit (MRT) system construction sites on the legislature.
"Hsieh is being irresponsible. He wants to exceed his responsibilities. The accident with the MRT was simply a construction mishap, and has nothing to do with the budget," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Chung-yu (
Wang was the first chairman of the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation.
"Hsieh said that if the budget does not pass soon, then there would be more accidents at construction sites. If that's really the case, then the authorities should halt construction immediately and Hsieh should resign to take responsibility," Wang said.
Allotments for the Taipei and Kaohsiung MRT projects have been included in the budget for the 10 key infrastructure projects, estimated at NT$500 billion over five years.
The opposition has demanded the Cabinet separate the MRT budget from other projects and handle it according to debt-ceiling regulations because they entail ongoing expenses.
The Executive Yuan and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus, however, insisted that the projects should proceed together as part of one budgetary package.
"This year the budgets for the Taipei and Kaohsiung MRTs have been prepared within the NT$500 billion construction package. The budget still hasn't been passed, and the Kaohsiung City Government is already facing financial problems," DPP caucus whip Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said, urging opposition caucuses to change their minds and agree to the budget.
Military photovoltaic projects have been found to have used Chinese-made devices blacklisted by the government, including Huawei Technologies Co routers, the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau said on Thursday. An ongoing investigation has identified the illegal use of 128 current transformers, two routers and a data reader at the Hungchailin Army Base, Pinghai Navy Base and Tri-Service General Hospital’s Songshan branch, it said. The devices were manufactured in the Chinese factories of German solar energy equipment supplier SMA Solar Technology, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Delta Electronics Co, Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei and Taiwanese industrial PC maker Advantech Co, the bureau said. The bureau’s
Hong Kong’s Andy Lau (劉德華) on Wednesday announced that he would perform in Taiwan for the first time since 2013, with four shows at the Taipei Arena from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. The concerts are part of Lau’s upcoming “Today... is the Day” tour, which began in Shanghai yesterday. He is also to perform in Singapore and Malaysia as part of the tour. In a news release, Lau said it felt good to be able to rehearse his dancing and singing for the tour, even though he had to don a face mask. “Holding these concerts has been something I have
’PLAYING WITH FIRE’: Instead of escalating matters, the DPP should carefully navigate cross-strait affairs and place the welfare of Taiwanese first, the former president said The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should stop “playing with fire” and endangering the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution and Taiwan with its new “two-state theory,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said on Friday. Since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was created on Oct. 1, 1949, both sides of the Strait have been in a state of “denial of [the validity of] mutual sovereignty, and not gainsaying mutual right of government,” Ma wrote on Facebook. Ma said he and his administration had always handled the issue carefully during his presidency, adding that they never allowed comments such as “the ROC and
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a