Taipei to end contract with scandal-hit network supplier

Taipei, March 25 (CNA) Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said Monday he has ordered the termination of a controversial government contract with a fiber optic network supplier of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, which has been implicated in bribery allegations.

A 25-year contract was signed by the Taipei City government on Dec. 30, 2011 with Taiwan Intelligent Fiber Optic Network Consortium (Taifo).

It was a contract to build a fiber optic network in Taipei as part of a smart city project, during Hau Lung-bin's (郝龍斌) term as mayor from 2006-2014.

In 2017 when Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was the mayor, the city government signed a sub-contract with Taifo regarding the supply of CCTV cameras used by police, with the service fee for the network of 3-megapixel CCTV cameras set at NT$2,200 (US$69.10) per camera per month starting from 2020.

However, after Chiang of the Kuomintang (KMT) took office in December 2022, he continued to negotiate with Taifo on the rate and finally lowered the service fee to NT$2,100 per month, which would cost approximately NT$502 million in 2024, according to the city government.

Controversy surrounding the lucrative contract surfaced after prosecutors on March 15 requested the detention of Taipei City Councilor Chen Chung-wen (陳重文) of the KMT on suspicion of corruption for allegedly accepting bribes from Taifo.

The 46-year-old allegedly accepted kickbacks from Taifo and has pressured the Taipei City Police Department multiple times from December 2023 to January this year to increase the network service budget in favor of Taifo.

When asked by reporters as to whether the 3-megapixel resolution service monthly fee was set at a reasonable level, Chiang said he has asked the city's legal affairs department to terminate the 2017 CCTV service contract and will then examine other contracts the city government signed with Taifo.

"We are now dealing with a difficult task," Chiang said, but did not elaborate on whether the 25-year contract established in 2011 will be tackled.

In response, Taifo said Monday that it respects the city government's decision and will handle the matter in accordance with the provisions of the contract.

Also on Monday, TPP Legislator Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) raised again the question that was brought up by Ko last Friday about why in his last year in office in 2022, the network service budget was NT$460 million, but in the following year, the Chiang administration earmarked a NT$550 million budget for the service.

According to Chiang's government, the budget increase was based on the service rate and city council provisions established during the Ko administration period.

Huang also expressed concerns that ending the contract might cause security vulnerability.