Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德) said yesterday that the government would select a new chairperson for the Taipei Financial Center Corp (台北金融大樓公司), owner of the Taipei 101 building, by Jan. 5.
Lee’s remarks came after chairwoman Diana Chen (陳敏薰) reportedly offered to resign on Wednesday night after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers cast doubt on her competence.
Lee told the legislature’s Finance Committee that the ministry, which has majority control of the company, would name a successor at the board of director’s meeting scheduled for Jan. 5.
In response to questions from KMT legislators eager to know who Chen’s successor would be, Lee denied that there was a list of candidates.
KMT Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said Chen wanted to stay at her post until the end of the year so that she could host the annual fireworks show on New Year’s Eve.
In response, Lee said that Chen had tendered her resignation verbally and that the approval process was under way, adding that there was no need to hold an emergency board meeting before Jan. 5.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) criticized Chen’s performance, saying that her monthly salary was NT$500,000 — more than that of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) — but that Taipei 101 had lost nearly half of its capital since Chen had taken the helm in 2004.
Lee said Chen’s high salary and perks were not in line with public expectations during an economic downturn.
The minister did not say whether he would take steps to address the issue.
During an interview with the Chinese-language Apple Daily published yesterday, Chen was asked whether the recent resignations of several financial institution executives who are closely linked to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), were politically motivated.
“I think so. The situation will be resolved after I leave,” Chen told the newspaper.
Lin Cheng-yi (林誠一), former chairman at China Development Financial Holding Corp (開發金控), and Henry Kao (高志尚), former supervisor at Taishin International Bank (台新銀行), tendered their resignations recently amid speculation that the KMT government was attempting to get rid of officials appointed by the former DPP administration.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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