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Minister resigns over campaign clash

Minister of Finance Ho Chih-chin (何志欽) resigned yesterday to take responsibility for the melee that broke out at the campaign office of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) on Wednesday.

"As a politically appointed minister, I am willing to take responsibility for what happened and the disruption it caused," Ho told a media briefing yesterday morning while announcing his resignation, which ended his 20-month tenure.

Ho said that he had thought about his decision carefully last night.

However, he sidestepped questions as to whether he had been negligent in accompanying four Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators when they barged into Hsieh's campaign office, saying only that the KMT legislators insisted he accompany them.

KMT caucus whip Alex Fai (費鴻泰), along with KMT legislators Chen Chieh (陳杰), Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才) and Luo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾), accused state-run First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) on Wednesday of waiving the rent on Hsieh's campaign office on the 13th floor, and ended up clashing with the crowd of DPP supporters.

Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) accepted Ho's resignation in a meeting at the premier's residence yesterday morning.

"Minister Ho told me he would like to take responsibility [for the clash]. I praise his decision. As such, I approved his resignation on the spot," Chang told reporters.

While the Executive Yuan should cooperate with the legislature, it doesn't mean that officials should bow to every request made by lawmakers, Chang said when asked for comment in Taichung City.

"[Officials] acting on inappropriate directives doesn't benefit the country or the public," Chang said.

Minister of the Government Information Office Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) told a press conference that Chang had appointed Vice Minister of Finance Lee Ruey-tsang (李瑞倉) as acting minister.

"The premier will consider whether it is necessary to assign a new finance minister," Shieh said.

The country will elect a new president next Saturday, with the new administration taking over on May 20.

Shieh said that Ho went to Hsieh's campaign headquarters "under the intimidation" of the four KMT lawmakers, adding that the premier sympathized with Ho for the wrong that he had suffered.

"It's unacceptable for lawmakers to coerce politically appointed officials. It's really a great pity when lawmakers overstep their authority, trample on the Constitution and the dignity of politically appointed officials," Shieh said.

Before taking the finance minister's post in July 2006, Ho, 56, was the dean of National Taiwan University's Department of Economics. He had also served as chief economist at the Internal Revenue Service in the US.

"Ho's stepping down will have a limited impact on the ministry's operations since [the Cabinet] is now a caretaker government," said Tseng Chu-wei (曾巨威), a professor of public finance at National Chengchi University.

But he expressed regret about the political maneuvering that put an end to Ho's tenure and his efforts to carry out significant tax reforms by pushing for a new tax framework and lowering business income taxes and individual income tax rates before the Statute for Upgrading Industries (促進產業升級條例) expires next year.

Also see: Presidential election 2008: Wu apologizes for legislators' intrusion
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