The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday accused former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恆) in 2016 of abusing his power by removing the legal hurdles to his family securing a 20-year lease of the No. 105 wharf in the Port of Taichung.
Yen is the KMT’s candidate in a legislative by-election in Taichung’s second electoral district on Jan. 9 next year, following the recall of then-Taiwan Statebuilding Party legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) last month.
NPP deputy caucus whip Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) told a news conference that the No. 105 wharf is a strategically important infrastructure and the Taiwan International Port Co should ensure that it does not become a national security loophole by allowing a “corrupt” local faction leader like Yen to use it.
Photo: CNA
On Tuesday, Wu Pei-yun (吳佩芸), deputy executive director of the NPP’s Taichung headquarters, challenged Yen to a debate about the matter.
She accused Yen of initially stopping the port company from operating the dock itself in 2015.
Due to Yen’s persistent meddling in the project, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in 2016 revised the management plan for the No. 105 wharf and opted to outsource its operation to a contractor through a public tender, Wu said.
Although Yen’s family company failed to obtain the contract during the public tender in 2018, a warehousing firm that is 50 percent owned by the Yen family secured the contract in another tender last year, Wu added.
Separately, at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said that Yen not only questioned the port operator’s management about the matter during a committee meeting at the time, but also proposed motions to freeze the company’s budget.
He asked the company if it was pressured by Yen to change the management plan for the wharf when he was a legislator or if it was asked to brief the plan in Yen’s office.
The port company denied that the wharf management plan was changed because of pressure from Yen, but that he did ask the company’s management to go to his office to explain the project’s details to him.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that the operation was outsourced in accordance with the Commercial Port Law (商港法), and that no major administrative flaw was found in the tender process last year.
However, more information about the operations at the wharf from September 2016 to last year is needed, he said.
Port of Taichung president Sean Lu (盧展猷) said that the wharf was built exclusively for the storage of coal, adding that the facility would help reduce air pollution generated at the port.
“We originally planned to manage the wharf ourselves. However, we decided to outsource the management of the wharf to a private stevedore operator to avoid criticism that the government was competing for profit with the private sector. The Dockworkers’ Union in Taichung supported the proposal of having a private contractor manage the wharf,” he said.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
Taiwan Travelogue (臺灣漫遊錄), which earlier this week became the first Taiwanese novel to win the International Booker Prize, is to be adapted into a television series through a Taiwan-Japan coproduction, producer Chang Chen-yu (張辰漁) said yesterday. Chang, a producer at World Softest Production Film Co, wrote on Facebook that the company had been searching for projects with international appeal that retain a strong Taiwanese identity after colleagues and Japanese partners strongly recommended the novel. After reading the book, Chang said he immediately decided to pursue the screen rights. “A great story has the power to transcend time and borders, and connect countless people,”
RSS