Premier Frank Hsieh (
"It would be my fault and I'm willing to take responsibility if the court rules that the construction project should be regulated by the Government Procurement Act (
"However, it would have nothing to do with me if the problem turns out to be due to internal problems of shareholders and the bidding process of sub-contractors," he said.
PHOTO: LEE YING, TAIPEI TIMES
He made the remarks in response to questions filed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Lee Chuang-chiao (李全教) and Chi Kuo-tung (紀國棟) yesterday.
They asked Hsieh when he would consider stepping down and called on him to take a lengthy period of leave while prosecutors delve into the case.
They also asked why the German firm Siemens put only NT$500 million (US$14.97 million) into the project when it had originally promised to invest NT$1 billion.
Hseih called on the public and public figures to exercise rationality, especially with the Dec. 3 elections drawing near.
He condemned intimidation and pledged to find out who was responsible for vandalizing KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu's (
"We encourage the public to provide leads and will make the utmost effort to find out who should be held accountable and mete out punishment accordingly," he said.
Hung's service center in Yonghe (永和), Taipei County, was painted with the characters biaozi (bitch, 婊子). The center has also received several obscene or threatening telephone calls.
It is believed that the incidents are linked to clashes between Hung and Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Pasuya Yao (
Hung called Yao a pizi (ruffian,
Standing by her remarks, Hung said yesterday that she hopes the police handle her case as fast as they did with the arrest of Tu Shi-san (杜十三).
Tu, a poet whose real name is Huang Jen-ho (黃人和), made a threatening telephone call in which in threatened to kill all of Hsieh's family. He was arrested less than 24 hours after he made the call.
Hsieh also urged law enforcement officers to continue their investigation of the Thai workers' riot in Kaohsiung in August.
"Law enforcement officers should show their determination to fight all kinds of illegal deals. If they only focus on the biggest issues, it will be difficult to persuade the public that our law enforcement officers are not just investigating specific cases," he said.
The premier said that in the past law enforcement officials have sometimes begun by probing one scandal only to end up investigating a related case.
"This is not good. Once they decide to launch their investigation on a case, they should figure out all the details before they close it," Hsieh said.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56