World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz faced a fight for his political life yesterday after the development lender's directors demolished his defense in a favoritism scandal surrounding his girlfriend.
As calls mounted for the former US deputy defense secretary to resign, the 24 executive directors issued a statement that left Wolfowitz squarely isolated heading into a weekend of high-level talks among global financial leaders.
After a day-long emergency meeting that stretched late into the night, the board detailed the findings of its investigation into the row over Wolfowitz's Libyan-born partner, Shaha Riza.
More than 100 pages of documents released with the statement revealed that on Wolfowitz's personal direction, Riza was given raises that took her annual pay package to nearly US$200,000 when she was reassigned from the World Bank to the US State Department.
Riza remained on the World Bank payroll despite her move, which was to forestall any conflicts of interest after Wolfowitz took charge of the bank in June 2005.
"The executive directors will move expeditiously to reach a conclusion on possible actions to take," the board's statement said. "In their consideration of the matter, the executive directors will focus on all relevant governance implications for the bank."
The controversy engulfing one of the architects of the war in Iraq threatened to overshadow talks yesterday among finance ministers from the G7 nations.
Ahead of the bank's annual spring meeting this weekend, whose formal agenda threatens to be engulfed by the dispute, Wolfowitz said on Thursday "I will accept any remedies" proposed by the executive board.
"I made a mistake, for which I am sorry," Wolfowitz told a news conference.
He said that "in hindsight, I wish I had trusted my original instincts and kept myself out of the negotiations" over Riza's generous pay deal.
But his mea culpa was not enough for the World Bank's staff association, which said Wolfowitz had "destroyed" the trust of employees and should quit.
"He must act honorably and resign," the de facto union said in a letter to the World Bank's 10,000 rank-and-file staff.
In an editorial yesterday, the Financial Times also called for Wolfowitz to go, either voluntarily or at the behest of the board.
"If the president stays, [the World Bank] risks becoming an object not of respect, but of scorn, and its campaign in favor of good governance not a believable struggle, but blatant hypocrisy," it said.
But the conservative Wall Street Journal called the controversy "trivial" in an editorial.
"The forces of the World Bank status quo are now making their power play," the Journal wrote, suggesting the fracas involved resistance to Wolfowitz's efforts to make the bank and its borrowers more accountable.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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