Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors yesterday criticized President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) over the spiralling budget for the MRT Neihu Line during his time as Taipei mayor and for insisting on adopting a medium capacity system for the line despite the growing population and rapid development in the area.
They also urged Ma to take responsibility for the line’s system malfunctions.
Construction of the Neihu Line, which opened to the public on July 4, started in 2002 when Ma was mayor of Taipei. The Taipei City Council approved the Ma administration’s proposal in 2001 that the line be built above ground with a medium passenger capacity.
price tag
Ma further insisted that Songshan Airport should be added to the route, driving up the price tag by NT$62 billion.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏) accused Ma of benefiting the contractor, Kung Sing Engineering Corporation, by increasing the budget from NT$30 billion to NT$62 billion over the years but refusing to change the system to a high-capacity system.
“Why do Taipei residents need to spend so much money building a medium-capacity MRT system? Ma Ying-jeou should explain his decisions to the public,” she told a press conference at the Taipei City Council.
integration
DPP Taipei City Councilor Lee Ching-feng (李慶鋒) condemned Ma for insisting on using Canadian firm Bombadier as the contractor for the Neihu Line, making the integration of the systems of the Muzha Line and Neihu Line more difficult.
Bombardier was not involved in the construction of the Muzha Line.
“Taipei residents should not be treated as lab rats. With so many problems afflicting the Neihu Line, Ma should give a clear explanation on his previous decisions, rather than making the administration of Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) a scapegoat,” he said.
Taipei City Secretariat Deputy Director Tan Guo-guang (譚國光), the head of the Neihu Line’s emergency response team, argued that the NT$6.2 billion budget was for the whole project, including adjustments in the prices for construction materials. Kung Sing Engineering Corporation received about NT$4 billion.
approved
Tan said the budget was approved by the city council, dismissing DPP city councilors’ concerns about the city government’s profiting the contractor.
The new president of Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) Lin Chung-yih (林崇一), a former deputy Taipei mayor, yesterday promised to stabilize the malfunction-plagued line within three months.
Lin, who left his position as deputy Taipei mayor last year after suffering a stroke, took over his new position yesterday.
Lin pledged to solve the lines’ problems and said the company would draw up a new pricing plan for the line after Hau promised to consider cutting ticket prices.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is