Pres. Ma accepts full responsibility for Wenhu MRT line problems

Ma made the promise during a meeting with four members of the highest government watchdog Control Yuan investigating the Wenhu Line controversies, the spokesman, Tony Wang, said.

Ma admitted that the project and method of selecting its contractors were decided during his stint as Taipei mayor between 1998 and 2006.

If the operational problems afflicting Wenhu Line are related to his decisions, Ma said he is willing to shoulder the responsibility, according to the spokesman.

Launched last year, The Wenhu Line's unstable system caused operations to stall several times during its first few months in operation.

The watchdog members noted that their investigation focuses on the decision to bundle both the civil and electrical engineering elements of the project, into one single contract.

Wang cited Ma as explaining that the decision was meant to avoid a repetition of a lawsuit arising from the construction of the Muzha Line, by French company Matra, in the 1990s.

Ma holds that the Wenhu Line may need improvements, but its initial operations, compared to the Mucha Line's, were better, according to his spokesman.

One of the watchdog members, Ger Yeong-kuang, said after the meeting that the Control Yuan is likely to censure the Taipei City government over the Wenhu Line controversy.

Another member, Chen Yung-hsiang, said the ballooning of the Wenhu Line budget to over NT$60 billion from the initial NT$30 billion showed that the contracting process was not well handled.

Ger said the transport ministry may have also been at fault for failing to monitor the project, and the watchdog may demand it makes improvements.

The watchdog is also likely to demand the Taipei City government seek compensation from relevant contractors for the Wenhu Line problems, Ger said.

The four watchdog members met the president inside the presidential building during what was described as a “tea gathering.”

Both sides maintained that it was not a formal questioning, which might have been unconstitutional.

The Control Yuan does not have the power to investigate the president, who can only be impeached by the Legislature.

The problematic MRT line linking Muzha and Neihu was originally named “Zhahu Line.” But its name was changed following frequent problems with the initial operations.

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