CONSPICUOUS ABSENCE:Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said that Syntrend had to be ‘socially responsible’ and that it should provide for businesses impacted by the complex

Taipei Times
Date: May 16, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Controversy over the Syntrend build-operate-transfer (BOT) project remains unresolved, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday in response to the complex’s opening ceremony.

“We wish them well on their opening, but accounts have yet to be cleared,” said Ko, who was noticeably absent from the opening ceremony, instead attending a ceremony to give out awards to exemplary elementary-school students.

The previous Taipei City Government had billed the 12-story building on city-owned land in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正) as a conduit toward the transformation of the surrounding electronics district into a “shopping paradise” which could rival Tokyo’s Akihabara District.     [FULL  STORY]