離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Premier defends Twin Towers decision
Premier Su Tseng-chang speaks during an inspection of the National Highway Police Bureau in New Taipei City’s Taishan District yesterday. Photo: Wang Hsuan-ching, Taipei Times
KO CRITICISM: Su Tseng-chang said that national sovereignty is paramount, so denying a firm with possible Chinese links the Taipei project was completely justified
By Tsai Ya-hua and Sean Lin / Staff reporters
Premier Su Tseng-chang （蘇貞昌） yesterday dismissed concerns that the government had wrongly rejected Nan Hai Corp’s bid to build the Taipei Twin Towers project after Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je （柯文哲） on Thursday complained about the Investment Commission’s decision and said that the central government’s “national sovereignty” concerns were “bullshit.”
Citing Article 7 of the Statute for Investment by Foreign Nationals （外國人投資條例）, the commission on Wednesday overturned the Taipei City Government’s decision to award Nan Hai the contract to build the complex near Taipei Railway Station over concerns that funding might come from China.
“The commission has determined a strong link between the investors and the Chinese market,” commission spokeswoman Yang Shu-ling （楊淑玲） told a news conference.
At a forum on Thursday attended by university students, Ko complained about the decision.
“The way I see it, [talk of] national vision and national sovereignty are bullshit,” he said.
Ko was asked to comment on reports that his stance had changed since 2014, when the Ministry of Finance blocked Malaysian investment company IOI Properties Group’s bid to buy Ting Hsin International Group’s shares in Taipei 101, as it suspected Chinese investors were behind IOI.
Ko said he had not changed his stance.
“It took me three seconds at the time, but it took the Democratic Progressive Party five months,” he said.
Asked if he thought President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） was behind the commission’s decision, Ko said he did not want to speculate, but added: “If you wanted to invoke national security and sovereignty, you only need three seconds [to make a decision]. You do not need five months.”
“Next time, they should find a better excuse,” he said.
Asked why he disliked Tsai’s leadership style, Ko said that instilling fear and hatred is a cheap but effective way to generate political mobilization, but it harms the nation’s long-term prospects.
Separately yesterday, Su said that national sovereignty is paramount and concerns the safety of all Taiwanese.
Every member of the public sector considers national security to be their most important task, Su said.
Asked to comment on former premier Simon Chang’s （張善政） remarks that Su had abused national sovereignty by troubling Ko with the Taipei Twin Towers situation and Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu （韓國瑜） over dengue fever in the city and a bid to launch a maritime connection with China, Su said that no one should debase the nation’s sovereignty.
“Any advanced country, such as the US, would not think twice if an investment project was a potential threat to national security,” Su said.
The Taipei Twin Towers project is at the heart of Taipei and is to be a transportation hub where several systems converge, he said.
The bidder is a company suspected of being backed by Chinese funds, so people should applaud the commission for safeguarding the project and national security, he said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
