Last Thursday, National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital voted down a request from Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘) -- the son-in-law of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) -- to return to his job as an orthopedic doctor at the hospital. The hospital's decision will help preserve its reputation, given that it is already facing criticism as a result of Chao's implication in insider trading charges. However, whether the hospital can really keep Chao from returning to his job is another matter.
Three rounds of voting -- by the ethics committee, orthopedic department and the hospital management -- at the hospital were all against the return of Chao. During the last round of voting, by the hospital management, 57 people voted against Chao's return, one in favor, and one abstained. Why anyone would want to return to work in an environment showing such animosity is a question only Chao can answer.
In July, the hospital suspended Chao from his job based on Article 3 of the Civil Servants' Disciplinary Act, according to which any civil servant who is in custody or has an arrest warrant filed against him or her should be suspended from his or her job. Chao is considered a civil servant because he works for NTU Hospital ? a teaching hospital owned by National Taiwan University. NTU is of course a public university supervised by the Ministry of Education.
At the time of his original suspension, Chao was in jail, because the prosecutor's office detained him in order to avoid any risk of collusion between him and others implicated in the insider trading scandal. His suspension was valid on legal grounds.
According to Article 10 of the act, a civil servant who has been suspended from his or her job may request permission to return to that job within three months, after the reason for the original suspension ended. Chao is no longer in jail, and therefore he would like to go back to work. To protect the interests of civil servants, Article 10 also stipulates that unless there are legal grounds for refusing the request, the requester should be allowed to return to work.
The reason cited by NTU Hospital for refusing Chao's request was that he had seriously violated medical ethics and therefore was no longer fit to be a doctor at the hospital. This is where the hospital's decision could be challenged.
Chao's role in the insider trading scandal is distasteful. He was the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of public tolerance for scandals in which members of the first family were allegedly involved. The sense of resentment toward him is uniform across the pan-green and pan-blue camps.
This is why the hospital is placed on the spot. It would be wrong to welcome Chao with open arms -- not to mention an invitation for "red guards" to stage a siege at the hospital. However, Chao's case is still under criminal investigation, despite the fact that just about everyone believes he is guilty. His guilt will still need to be confirmed by a court of law.
The hot potato has now been passed to the Civil Servants Disciplinary Committee of the Judiciary Yuan, which holds the final authority regarding the fate of Chao. If the committee cannot find legal grounds to accept the decision of the hospital and Chao returns to work, this may be the excuse that the anti-Chen camp has been waiting for.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing