The top official at the Financial Supervisory Commission's (FSC) examination bureau has been forced to step down as fallout continues from an investigation into insider training.
Examination bureau director-general Lee Chin-cheng (李進誠) has been temporarily replaced by FSC vice chairman Lu Daung-yen (呂東英) until a new appointment is made.
Premier Frank Hsieh (
"The bureau is a stand-alone government office, so the head of that office must be clean. Since Lee is now associated with this scandal and under investigation, he has damaged the reputation of the bureau and violated that bottom line," Hsieh said during a visit to the Consumers Foundation yesterday.
Lee is being investigated for alleged insider trading involving Power Quotient International Co. According to Minister of Justice Morley Shih (施茂林), the prosecutors' priorities have been establishing whether there were additional bank accounts being used for laundering purposes and whether there were more government officials involved.
However, while the prosecutors continued their work, the media has also portrayed Lee as having a private life befitting a "handsome, rich and powerful former prosecutor."
With the commission working on a suitable candidate to replace Lee, the premier yesterday outlined his requirements for the new assignment.
"The next director-general of the bureau must be someone who does not live a complicated life," he said.
Speaking on behalf of the premier, Cabinet Spokesman Cho Jung-tai (
He said that such a person must conduct himself with the strictest discipline, must keep a proper distance from friends to avoid leaking classified information and also must be faithful to his partner, whether "she be a wife or a girlfriend."
Lee is to be transferred to another section at the commission without a leadership role. However, his new post has yet to be announced.
Shih said that he asked the Taiwan High Court Prosecutor's Office to expedite the case so that "the truth will be made public as soon as possible."
"I have given my full support to ... Prosecutor-General Hsieh Wen-ding (謝文定). In return, he has given me his promise that they will prosecute the appropriate suspects in this scandal as soon as possible," Shih said.
In the investigation's latest developments, Lin Ming-ta (
Sources also said that evidence collected by prosecutors was damaging to Lee, but prosecutors would not confirm this.
also see story:
Commission keeps mum over Lee
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net