Steve Shieh (謝壽夫), chairman of the First Financial Holding Co, yesterday gained the media spotlight after a verbal fight with a pan-blue lawmaker in which he used an English-language expletive.
Lawmakers asked Shieh for an apology, and demanded that the Ministry of Finance reconsider keeping Shieh, 66, as the head of the state-run bank First Financial.
HEATED WORDS
The senior banker -- who spent the past 10 years at Taishin Commercial Bank before becoming chairman of First Financial in August 2003 -- was taking part in a regular question-and-answer session at the legislature's Finance Committee when he told Legislator Alex Fai (
"If you don't like coming here, then just resign," Fai, a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), told Shieh.
Standing next to Shieh, Minister of Finance Lin Chuan (
But as Shieh turned away from the microphone, he uttered the four-letter English-language expletive "shit," which was audible throughout the chamber.
Fai immediately stopped his questioning and demanded that Shieh repeat the word.
Committee chairman Liao Pen-yen (
The Legislative Yuan has been the scene of numerous brawls, fistfights and incidents of rival lawmakers hurling objects such as lunch boxes and books at each other.
`SHIT'-STORM
Regarding this storm in the teacup, First Financial executive vice president and spokesman Huang Hsien-chuan (
"He [Shieh] was simply very angry at the false rumors circulating around, thereby he burst out with something that people think was inappropriate," Huang said, referring to speculation that Shieh was intending to enter into merger talks with Taishin Financial.
As for Shieh's position at First Financial, Huang said that Shieh is employed by the government and that he would try his best to do his job.
Whether he would have to leave the post regarding the "shit" incident is not something Shieh can decide, Huang said on behalf of Shieh.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS