Last month, the Taipei City Government organized a hiking event for the Double Ninth Festival, but severely underestimated attendance, leading to a bloody accident. City councilor Ko Chia-yu revealed that the city government failed to submit a safety maintenance plan as required by the “Guidelines for Safety Management of Large-Scale Gatherings.” Afterwards, various departments passed the buck, with allegations of lying and document forgery, yet the review report mentioned none of this. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je responded that while officials making mistakes is one thing, lying is a more serious issue. The case will continue to be investigated, and those responsible will be held accountable within a month.
The city government had expected 7,000 participants for the hiking event, but over 20,000 showed up, resulting in chaos. Ko Chia-yu questioned that according to the city government’s “Guidelines for Safety Management of Large-Scale Gatherings,” events with over 1,000 participants lasting more than two hours should have a pre-planned safety maintenance scheme. However, the city government assessed that it wasn’t necessary, established standard procedures (SOPs) but didn’t follow them—essentially taking shortcuts that led to disaster.
Ko Chia-yu questioned the Bureau of Urban Development officials during a council session last month. They responded that they had called colleagues at the Fire Department beforehand, who allegedly said the event did not require a safety maintenance plan. But the Fire Department denied receiving any such call, resulting in conflicting accounts and turning the incident into a mystery. Later, she reviewed the documents and found that the Bureau of Urban Development had neither submitted a safety maintenance plan nor contacted the Fire Department, choosing instead to cover up their mistakes with lies.
She expressed frustration, saying that so much time had passed, the review report was already out, yet such a simple issue remained unresolved. Officials failed to apply for the required permits, lied, and forged official documents, thinking they could fool the councilors. If such misconduct becomes the norm, who would trust information provided by the city government? She urged Ko Wen-je to hold those responsible accountable and find out who was lying.
Ko Wen-je stated that the case is not yet closed. He has asked the Research, Development, and Evaluation Commission to list out the issues one by one. Only after uncovering the truth can disciplinary actions be taken. He frankly admitted that while officials making mistakes isn’t that serious, the real problem lies in departments passing the buck and lying. The councilor’s criticism is valid, and the city government will use this case as a mechanism for reflection. The Research, Development, and Evaluation Commission has been tasked with getting to the bottom of it within a month.
(China Times)