In a move aimed at reorganizing state-run China Airlines (CAL, 中 華航空), Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) announced yesterday the formation of a new board for the China Aviation Development Foundation (CADF, 中華航空事業發展基金會), which holds a 71 percent stake in CAL and is the main policy-making force behind the carrier.
Yeh also suggested National Chiao-tung University President, Chang Chun-yen (張俊彥) be named president of the group, replacing former Premier Hsu Li-teh (徐立德).
Chang has a long record of public service, including recent work as a member of the National Policy Advisory Committee (
Relatives in Chang's family were killed in the 228 Incident, and because of his family's political leanings, Chang had virtually no chance of studying abroad during the White Terror period. Chang received a PhD from National Chiao-tung University in 1970.
Chang is currently attending a seminar in San Jose, California, and was unavailable for comment.
An anonymous observer said the new CADF board members exclude all the former KMT members who previously held board positions. In addition, the source said CAL's competitor, EVA Air (長榮航空), has been blocked from gaining a board seat.
There had been speculation recently that EVA had sought to take control of CAL through the board, using its influence with President Chen.
EVA is widely rumored to have strong ties with the president, as its founder, Chang Yung-fa (
Both Yeh and Premier Tang Fei (
Other new board members include lawyer Chang Cheng-hsiung (
Yeh said Huang was invited to be CAL's representative in CADF as a fulfillment of the administration's promise to bring more democracy to the domestic airline industry.
CAL employee representatives have sought recently to capitalize on the timing of the board reshuffle to gain representation and have their voices heard.
"We hope that company employees can be represented both on the board of the foundation as well as in the company itself at the June election," said Lee Chao-ping (李昭平), chairman of the China Airlines Union (華航產業工會), at a hearing last Friday.
The youngest CADF board member, Huang is said to be a member of CAL's "Taiwan faction," known for its pro-DPP leanings.
The majority of CAL staff are strong supporters of the New Party and the recently formed People First Party.
"Current chairman Chiang Hung-yi (蔣洪彝) and president Sandy Liu (劉克涯) will be replaced in the near future to totally reform CAL's industry culture and management," MOTC officials said.
MOTC officials said the CADF should be reorganized by June 30 and the group will nominate 10 out of CAL's 11 board members soon after.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
RSS