Zhubei City official faces allegations of budget inflation in procurement contracts

Chen Kuan-yu, a candidate for Zhubei City Representative, has raised serious allegations regarding fiscal discipline under Mayor Cheng Chao-fang. According to data from the government electronic procurement website, at least 15 procurement projects for city activities have seen budget increases through contract changes ranging from 50% to 191% after the initial bidding process.

Specific examples cited include the ‘2026 Zhubei Light Festival’, which saw an original bid of 7.8 million TWD increase by 12.73 million TWD (a 163% increase) following three contract changes. Another project, ‘Child Development Consultation and Parent-Child Activities’, reportedly increased from an original 1.95 million TWD to 3.73 million TWD, a 191% surge.

Chen criticized the practice as a method to bypass oversight, describing it as using public bidding for the initial stage only to switch to ‘restrictive procurement’—which does not require open selection or public solicitation—for subsequent budget expansions. He questioned why these costs were not accurately assessed before bidding and demanded transparency regarding whether the City Representative Council was notified of these significant changes.