Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

Responding to outcry over overpriced procurements related with the Xinsheng Overpass renovation project, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin apologized for the controversy during a press conference on August 27.
The mayor stressed that he sees honesty and integrity as the most important values of his administrative team. Despite imposing punishment upon those at fault and transferring the case to law enforcement bodies, he stressed that as the city’s mayor he should bear the responsibility and implement necessary actions.
At the press conference, Hau announced that he will activate the City’s anti-graft mechanism and form a taskforce comprising of outside experts and officials from the Department of Government Ethics. He will serve as the chairman of the committee and launch a probe into the prices of all city procurements.
He promised that investigations on top priority items – those related with the Xinsheng Overpass renovation project and the 2010 Taipei International Flora Expo – will be completed within a month.
Deputy Mayor Lin Chien-yuan will be taking over as the Acting Commissioner of Public Works. Hau believes that Lin, with both his expertise in the field and his standpoint of deputy mayor, will implement a stricter standard for the staff at the Public Works Department.