The Taipei City Government will form a negotiation task force to settle problems in the Taipei Dome construction project with the contractor, Farglory Group (遠雄集團).
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the city government received formal corrective measures from the Control Yuan yesterday, and the commissioner of Taipei City’s Law and Regulation Commission, Yeh Ching-yuan (葉慶元), would head the task force to negotiate with the company in an attempt to fix the 39 problems presented by the Control Yuan.
“We will contact Farglory and start the negotiation process immediately to fix the problems and conform with the Control Yuan’s demands,” Hau said at Taipei City Hall. “We do not rule out the possibility of ending the contract with Farglory if it refuses to cooperate.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF FARGLORY GROUP
The Control Yuan said the city government failed to refer the revised construction plan to its review commission for approval, and that demanded the city government and the contractor fix 39 problems with the project, including changing subcontractors and the design of the stadium, as well as expanding the building from three stories to four to create more space for department stores.
The city government was given two months to revise the contract according to the corrective measures and present a report to the Control Yuan.
Hau said the corrective measures presented the city government with an opportunity to reexamine the project, but stressed that the city government would not consider alternate plans for the land before the contract issue is resolved.
Yeh said one of the demands from the city government would be asking Farglory to replace the subcontractors.
The negotiation team would include Yeh, commissioner of Administrative Appeals Commission Chen Ye-sin (陳業鑫) and executive secretary of the Taipei Dome construction project, Chang Kang-wei (張綱維).
Yeh said the team would contact Farglory on Monday to start the negotiation process, and said the city government was confident the task force could settle the issue.
Yeh declined to discuss details of the negotiation, and refused to comment on Farglory chairman Chao Teng-hsiung’s (趙藤雄) threat to ask for compensation if the city government decided to end the contract.
“We have been following the contract and doing everything according to the regulations. I am confident that the city government would gain the upper hand [if the case was brought to court],” he said.
The Control Yuan’s probe into the project stemmed from complaints filed by environmentalists who oppose the removal of more than 700 old trees to make way for the construction, which will occupy about 18 hectares on the former site of the Songshan Tobacco Factory in Xinyi District (信義).
Construction of the Dome, which would feature an indoor 40,000-seat stadium, hotels, department stores, a shopping center and office building, had originally been scheduled to begin earlier this year.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association