In what appeared to be a two-pronged effort at house-cleaning in the financial sector, Minister of Finance Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章) on Friday replaced the heads of both Chiao Tung Bank (交通銀行) and Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫).
Local media cited the finance minister as the force behind the move in which Taiwan Cooperative Bank Chairman Lee Wen-hsiung (李文雄) will retire to make way for Chiao Tung Bank Chairman Liang Cheng-jin (梁成金). Meanwhile, Evergreen Group (長榮) vice chairman Chang Shen-chi (鄭深池) will take over at the Chiao Tung Bank, the nation's seventh-largest bank by market value.
Officials at the finance ministry refused to confirm the news yesterday, saying any further comment would have to come from Yen himself.
The move appears to be aimed at further ridding the government of business leaders with ties to the former ruling party, the KMT.
The new head of Chiao Tung Bank, Chang Shen-chi, is the son-in-law of Taiwan shipping magnate Chang Yung-fa (
Besides acting as vice chairman at Evergreen, the younger Chang also sits on the board of a number of firms, including Fubon Bank (
Since Chen took power in May last year, the DPP-led government began removing those appointed by the previous administration from state-run companies.
In May, Chen sent the chairman of China Steel Corp (
One financial analyst who requested anonymity said the move was a financially sound one. The former chairman of Chiao Tung Bank will be the new head of the Taiwan Cooperative Bank, Taiwan's second-largest lender.
The analyst said that because Taiwan's banking sector is riddled with bad loans, someone needs to step in to stem the flow of red ink.
As Taiwan's economy slumps further, more and more banks are expected to run into problems because "the overdue loan ratio in local banks continues to rise, some even to a level government officials are reluctant to deal with," he said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary