Suspended Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Kong Jaw-sheng (
"I have been suspended and I will leave ... it is impossible for me to return to the post," Kong told reporters yesterday.
"I respect the Cabinet's decision. But I came in [to the position of FSC chairman] with a clean reputation and I hope to leave with one," Kong said.
PHOTO: AP
He repeated these sentiments several times during the press conference, but shied away from giving a date for his resignation.
Stressing that he held himself to high moral standards and had a clear conscience, Kong said: "I am in this situation today because I got in the way of certain interest groups as the head of an independent financial supervisor, whose duties always involve interests worth tens of billions of dollars."
The official, who said he was politically naive, declined to identify the "interest groups" to which he referred.
Looking solemn but tired, Kong made the remarks at a media briefing yesterday after three days of silence following the Cabinet's unexpected decision to suspend him late last Friday.
Kong was questioned for about 13 hours and released on bail of NT$500,000 (US$15,800) last Thursday by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, which is investigating claims he conducted public business for private gain during his chairmanship at the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar,
He was accused of awarding Taisugar's upscale cosmetics franchise to a certain company without going through the regulatory procurement process as well as bypassing government procurement requirements and hiring his sister-in-law as a paid consultant to the company's coffee shop business.
Kong was nominated to chair the FSC by the premier at the time, Yu Shyi-kun, and approved by President Chen Shui-bian (
As the position of FSC chairman has a four-year tenure, and the nation's highest financial regulator is supposed to be immune to political influence in order to safeguard the independent status of financial policy-making, some have questioned whether it is possible for Kong to be forcibly removed.
The confrontation between Kong and the Cabinet appeared to escalate yesterday as the government said it stood by its decision on Kong's suspension.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (
The ruling was made with prudence and legitimacy, and would not be changed, Cheng said, adding that the Cabinet expected Kong to make a "wise decision" as soon as possible.
Denying the allegations against him, Kong said it did not make sense that he would give up a well-paid job at an international investment banking business to make relatively small profits through corruption as a public servant on a much smaller salary.
Kong spent 20 years in the financial industry before entering the public sector, serving as a national manager for Credit Suisse First Boston and president of Lehman Brothers Holding Inc's Taiwan unit.
In light of recent developments, legislators are planning to amend regulations and set up a mechanism to dismiss corrupt officials who are in positions that enjoy political immunity.
Another such position of safety is that of governor of the central bank.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six