This is the link to the article (in Chinese) about the guy who confessed to being paid a wad of cash to build certain infrastructure elements for the 4th Plant, and basically cutting as many corners as possible in order to make as much money as possible, 'cuz heck, they ain’t never really gonna open the plant!
appledaily.com.tw/appledaily … D%E5%8E%BB
I’m going to copy+paste the contents of the article below, just in case the “powers that be” try to force the media outlet to erase the article… (I’ll spend some time some time in the future translating the article into English, too. If anyone wants to help, that would be great!)
人間異語：你敢運轉核四 我逃命去
2012年11月26日 更多專欄文章
Different Words: You Dare Run the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant - I’m Running for My Life
November 26, 2012
H先生 中小企業主
Q：你的本業在傳統產業，怎會跑去接核四工程？
A：人不要貪啊，我就是太貪了！我本業做貿易，賺了點錢。10幾年前，有人告訴我，A公司很有潛力，是未來的台積電。A公司總經理說，他們生產的鋼管是高科技，有特殊技術，不會生鏽，由於董事長曾任民代，透過關係，以後如果用到自來水管在電廠裡，商機百億；加上新建核四廠預算1800億，只要承包100億就夠了。我於是投資4千萬。公司開幕時，政府跟官股投資公司和銀行高層都來，盛況空前。
Mr. H, small/medium-sized enterprise owner.
Q: Your background is in a traditional business, how did you end up taking a contract for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant?
A: People shouldn’t be greedy, but I am just too greedy! My background is in trade, and I made a bit of money. Ten years earlier, someone told me, “A” Company has a lot of potential, it’s the future Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC). “A” Company’s General Manager said, the metal pipes they manufactured were high-tech, requiring special skills and knowledge, and they didn’t rust. Because the CEO of “A” Company once held political office, owing to “guanxi”, they could instead use water pipes inside the power plant, and make a fortune; the estimated cost of the new Fourth Nuclear Power Plant was to be NT$180,000,000,000, we would only need a contract for NT$10,000,000,000 and that would be enough. Thus, I invested NT$40,000,000. When the new company opened, politicians, investors, and high-ranking bank officials came to celebrate the occasion in a grand fashion.
「每天活在恐懼中」
剛開始，公司承包一般電廠工程，後來去標核四工程。在圍標前，公司交際活動費就花了1億5千萬，之後標到10億工程，又要給回扣。我們標到後，還要交給下一包，每個工程都要層層轉包，都是無名的公司在做，連英文的按圖施工說明書也不會看。
當時，台灣產業開始外移，電用很少了，而民營電廠增建很多，我們蓋廠時，很多這種資訊就來了，說根本不需要增建核電廠，發電已過剩。我們不認真蓋電廠，看那工程也不像工程，只是應付，那時我們都講，核四不會運轉啦！只是洗錢。
沒想到後來政府下令停建，雖然賠償我們公司幾千萬，但部分工程費跟回扣已無法收回，公司就倒了。
我幾千萬就這樣沒了，我像遇到詐騙集團，首腦就是政府跟官股銀行高層。
其實公司資本才4億多，能跟銀行借到12億，就是跟銀行高層疏通好，找幾個名下沒財產的股東擔保，日後出事，債權都不用還。加上公司有立委投資，所以公司倒後，我幾年都沒事，沒想到銀行後來把債權賣給討債公司，討債公司開始來要錢，我開始跑法院。
“Living Life in Fear”
At the beginning, our company accepted contracts for normal power plants, and afterwards started bidding for Fourth Nuclear Power Plant contracts. Within the bidding process, our company spent NT$150,000,000 on “activities”, and later won the contract for an NT$1,000,000,000 engineering job, and had to pay kick-backs. After we won the contract, we sub-contracted out each different job, and those in turn were sub-sub-contracted out. All of the companies that actually did the work were small, unknown companies - they couldn’t even read the English blueprints.
At the time, many Taiwanese manufacturing businesses started being moved abroad, and the electricity being used domestically was very little. The Minying Electric Plant’s capacity had been increased significantly, and as we were working on that plant, we heard a lot of this type of news… news to the effect that there was no need for a nuclear power plant, electrical capacity for the nation was more than enough. As we worked on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, we didn’t seriously do the work, the engineering bore no resemblance to real engineering, it was just a show. At the time, we all said that the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant would never operate - we were just there to launder the money!
I never thought that after the government halted work on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, although our company received tens of millions, still a portion of the project cost and government payments were not forthcoming… our company went bankrupt. My tens of millions of dollars just disappeared like this, I felt like I had been fooled by a con-artist, my first thought was that the ringleaders were government officials and bank executives.
Actually, my company’s capital only amounted to just over NT$400,000,000, and we arranged loans of NT$1,200,000,000 from the banks, all arranged via our contacts with bank executives. We used people with no assets as guarantors - if anything happened, we wouldn’t have to repay the loans. In addition, our company had legislators as investors, so after our company went bankrupt, I was okay for a few years. I never thought that the banks would sell our loan claim to debt collection companies; they want the money, of course, so I started having to attend court often.
Q：你們這樣蓋核電廠，不會有罪惡感？
A：我們當初是真的認為核四不會運轉，只是公司趁機撈錢，隨便蓋。後來核四續建，我們公司沒了，看電廠不是鏽掉，就爛掉，工程還是層層轉包，不知換了多少包商，沒人可以負責，我雖覺得可怕，還是認為，這廠不可能運轉，只是提款機。
但後來，我越來越害怕，因政治人物好像是要讓它轉，尤其我看到發電機運進去，太可怕了。
我很有罪惡感，每天活在恐懼中，我很擔心核四廠一運轉就爆炸，我在台北市的房子就沒了。
Q: The way you guys built the plant, don’t you feel guilty?
A: At the beginning, we really thought the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant would never be operated, it was just a way for our company to make easy money - build any which-way. When they re-started construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, our company no longer existed, but the plant was rusty, crumbling… and despite this, the work to continue building was still contracted and sub-contracted out. Nobody knew how many contractors and sub-contractors were involved, and it would be impossible to have anyone responsible for anything. Although I felt frightened, I still felt, there’s no way they are going to run this Nuclear Plant, it’s just an ATM.
But later, I became more and more frightened, because it seemed that politicians wanted the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant to be put into operation… especially when I saw generators being shipped in… really frightening. I really do feel guilty, everyday I live in fear, I am really worried that when they try to start the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant that it will explode, and my home in Taipei will disappear.
若出事帝寶也沒用
我在北市精華地段有個50坪大的房子，還有空中花園，可是我根本不敢住，全家搬到桃園。按核電廠出事需要撤離30公里，至少要到林口。
If there’s any problem with the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, “Dibao Residences” (the most expensive properties in Taiwan) will also disappear.
In Taipei, on Jinghua Street, I have a 50 Ping mansion, including a garden in the sky, but I don’t dare live there. My entire family has moved to Taoyuan. If there’s a problem with the Nuclear Plant, people need to be at least 30 kms away, at the very least in Linkou.
Q：依美國標準80公里，還是危險啊？
A：至少桃園要逃到台中比較快，我在台中也有房子。很多人知道核電廠危險，但無可奈何，台灣人是牛，知道要死了，只會流淚，不會跑，可是我不是牛，我要趕快跑。
我兒子念心理系，說我病了，罹患核電恐慌症，但我們的財富都在台北，核電廠一出事，帝寶也沒用，所以帝寶也有人出來反核啊。就像帝寶蓋了17年， 每一層都換承包商，你還敢住嗎？
記者陳玉梅採訪整理
Q: According to the Americans, the standard is an 80 km Exclusion Zone in the event of a nuclear disaster, so there’s still danger (beyond the 30 km exclusion zone)?
A: At least, from Taoyuan, it’s much quicker to escape to Taizhong. I have a house in Taizhong, too. A lot of people know that Nuclear Power is dangerous, but they’re helpless. Taiwanese are like cows, when they know death is imminent, they’ll merely cry, they won’t run. However, I am not a cow, I want to run away as quickly as possible.
My son studied psychology and said I have a sickness, “nuclear power panic disorder”, but all my money is invested in Taipei. If the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant experiences a disaster, “Dibao Residences” will disappear, so the residents there have come out to oppose nuclear power. Just as Dibao was built 17 years ago, each floor was built by different sub-contractors… do you dare live there?
Reported by Chen Yumei
