Pressure mounts on MTR chief

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Hong Kong Today
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Pressure mounts on MTR chief
Walder faces calls for resignation over XRL delays
MTR CEO Jay Walder (centre) is under fire because the XRL work is nine months behind schedule. (Sing Tao Daily)
L
AWMAKERS have put further
pressure on MTR Corp (港鐵)
Chief Executive Jay Walder to
step down.
They wanted him to accept responsibility
for the delay in the construction of the Express Rail Link (XRL, 高鐵香港段).
New People’s Party (新民黨) lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun (田北辰) accused Walder of
serious negligence in not properly monitoring
the project. Walder did not check with project
director Chew Tai-chong (周大滄) on whether
the schedule could be met.
“Did he [Walder] ask Chew the necessary
questions to check [if the team could deliver]?”
Tien, the chairman of the Legislative Council’s
(立法會) railway subcommittee, asked. If he did
not then it was a serious neglect of his official
duties, Tien said.
Democratic Party lawmaker Wu Chi-wai (胡
志偉) said Walder should accept responsibility
and step down. Wu said transport secretary Anthony Cheung Bing-leung ( 張炳良) should also
be held responsible. He added that he plans
to move a motion of no confidence against
Cheung in Legco.
The MTRC earlier said that the 26-kilometre Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link is likely be
completed in 2017 instead of 2015.
The company blamed the black rainstorm
in March and unforeseeable challenges.
Key Idea
Lawmakers want MTR Corp
chief executive Jay Walder to
accept responsibility for the
delay in the construction of
the Express Rail Link and step
down. One accused him of a
serious neglect of his official
duties because he did not
check with the project director
on whether the schedule could
be met. The 26-kilometre
Express Rail Link is likely to
be completed in 2017 instead
of 2015. MTRC blamed the
heavy rain and unforeseeable
challenges for the delay.
Friday 9 May 2014
● Text : Anvil Ong
● Photos : Sing Tao Daily
P03
Vocabulary
Reading Comprehension
M : Meaning
Choose the best answer:
1. Michael Tien blamed Jay Walder
for _____.
4. What do the lawmakers want
Walder to do?
A. not checking with the project director
whether the schedule could be met
B. the black rainstorms
C. stopping the construction works
D. not telling the government what
happened
A. resign
B. apologise
C. pay compensation
D. find out who is to blame
2. Who is the project director?
A. Tien Puk-sun
B. Chew Tai-chong
C. Jay Walder
D. Wu Chi-wai
3. How long will the Express Rail
Link (Hong Kong section) be?
A. 26 kilometres
B. 2.6 kilometres
C. 260 kilometres
D. 2,600 kilometres
Knowledge
E : Example
1 delay (n) 延誤
M: a situation in which something does not
happen when it should
E: The staff apologised for the delay.
E: You should leave home early because there
may be delays on the train.
2 construction (n) 建造
5. Government officials who make
serious mistakes usually step
_____.
M: the process of building or making something,
especially roads, tunnels, bridges, etc
E: Work began on the construction of the new
school last year.
E: The library is still under construction.
A. down
B. for
C. to
D. no word is needed
3 negligence (n) 疏忽
M: failure to take enough care over something
that one is responsible for
E: The manager accused his secretary of
negligence.
6. Do you have any _____ for the
summer holidays?
A. strategies
B. methods
C. tactics
D. plans
E: The accident was caused by negligence.
4 schedule (n) 進度表
M: a list of the times when events are planned to
happen
E: We are ahead of schedule because we work
fast.
Answers on P12
E: Everyone must follow this schedule.
5 official (adj) 公務上的
M: relating to a position of responsibility
The Express Rail Link Hong Kong section (高
鐵香港段) will connect with the 16,000-km
national high-speed railway network. Work
on the Hong Kong section of the Express
Rail Link started in January 2010. The 26km long section runs from its West Kowloon
terminus connected to MTR Kowloon Station
(九龍站) and Austin Station (柯士甸站) to
Shenzhen’s (深圳) Futian Station (福田站).
E: Government House is the chief executive’s
official residence.
E: What is your official title in that company?
6 motion (n) 動議
M: a formal suggestion made, discussed, and voted
on at a meeting
E: Teachers voted against the motion to raise
school fees.
LS in a nutshell
E: The motion was passed at Legco.
Learning Card
7 unforeseeable (adj) 不可預見的
M: that one cannot predict
Who is a major shareholder
of the MTRC?
The Hong Kong government is a
major shareholder of the company.
E: You have to be prepared for some
unforeseeable trouble.
E: Damaging the environment will bring
unforeseeable consequences.

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