2009-07-22

Press statement of the 41st meeting of the 13th DPP Central Standing Committee


Press statement of the 41st meeting of the 13th DPP Central Standing Committee

In the 41st meeting of the 13th DPP Central Standing Committee, the DPP’s Taipei City Council caucus was invited to brief on recent Taipei City Government scandals relating to the disruptions on the Taipei MRT Nei-Hu Line. After the presentation, DPP Chairperson Dr. Tsai Ing-Wen has instructed the Caucus to bring the alleged malfeasance to court so that the truth behind all the backhand operations can be revealed to the public.\

Dr. Tsai questioned that why has a great accomplishment like the MRT system in Kaohsiung, the city governed under the DPP, been treated like a scandal while the Nei Hu MRT system in Taipei, the city ruled under the KMT, , the real scandal, has been promoted like it is a great accomplishment. The Kaohsiung MRT was depicted as a scandal, but the involved parties were later cleared of all charges, and the operation of the MRT line has received many compliments on its quality during the 2009 World Games. On the other hand, the Nei-Hu line, which has been praised as a feat of engineering by former Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-Jeou and current Mayor Hao Lung-bin, has been stricken with malfunction and scandals.

The DPP Executive Committee reached agreement on the following decisions:

1. Establish special taskforce on investigating the controversies surrounding the Taipei MRT Nei-Hu Line project. Members of the taskforce will include the DPP elected officials in Taipei as well as legal and engineering experts etc.

2. The Nei-Hu MRT scandal has caused great harm to public interests , however, since the prosecution has not taken any action to investigate the case, the DPP Taipei City Council Caucus will file the suit today. The DPP will also continue to work with its public officials and caucus in Taipei City Council to monitor the development of legal proceeding of the Nei-Hu Line case as well as decision-making processes and implementations of other on-going major public construction projects.

DPP Spokesperson Cheng Wen-Tsang saidafter the meeting, that, in President Ma Ying-Jeou's campaign book, "The Boldness of Silence," Ma claims the construction of Taipei MRT Nei-Hu line and the Mao Kong gondola as two of his best projects during his tenure as Taipei City Mayor. The Control Yuan, however, noted in its investigation report that Mayor Ma Ying-Jeou did not participate in the planning of the gondola. “This is ridiculous,” Cheng commented.

Regarding the Deaflymics and the International Floral Expo, which will take place in Taipei city next year, the standing committee members pointed out that Taipei City Government has fallen behind the preparation schedule, and there have been many mistakes in their preparation plans. Cheng said that the DPP headquarters along with the DPP Taipei City Council caucus and the DPP Legislative party caucus will all keep a close eye on Taipei City Government in preparing these two international events.

Also, in regarding to the comic strip published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs to promote public understanding of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), Cheng criticized the Ministry's portrayal of ECFA-supporting character: "Fa-Sao" as sophisticated and globally-oriented while ECFA-opposing character " Yi-Ge" as uneducated and crude. This commercial deliberately invokes discrimination, prejudice and stereotyping and it is very derogatory. The DPP demands the Ministry of Economic Affairs to apologize and recall all ECFA leaflets within three days, otherwise the DPP will file a complaint to with the Control Yuan.


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