Wang Mei-yu (王美玉), president of Chinese-language newspaper the China Times, was appointed to a six-year term as a Control Yuan member yesterday, the first acting media professional to be tapped for the job.
The Presidential Office yesterday unveiled its list of 29 members of the fifth-term Control Yuan. It was the second time President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has made the appointments during his presidency.
Wang was the third veteran journalist appointed to the position, following Huang Chao-heng (黃肇珩), who was general manager of Cheng Chung Book Co when nominated in 1993, and incumbent Control Yuan member Wu Feng-shan (吳豐山), who was previously a minister without portfolio.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“My 32-year career in journalism came to an end today,” Wang said.
Wang said she accepted the nomination and immediately resigned as president of the China Times, part of the Want Want China Times Group (旺旺中時集團) owned by Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明).
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) yesterday questioned Wang’s qualifications for the position.
“A member of the Control Yuan must be above partisanship and apolitical, but Wang has long worked with a media outlet that holds strong political views,” he said.
Among the 29 nominees, including Election Commission Chairperson Chang Po-ya (張博雅) being appointed president of the Control Yuan and former Council of Indigenous Peoples minister Sun Ta-chuan (孫大川) being nominated as vice president, only seven were incumbent members.
Liao Pen-chuan (廖本全), an associate professor at National Taipei University’s Department of Real Estate and Built Environment, was disappointed with the appointment of Shih Hung-chih (施鴻志), a retired professor of urban planning, because of Shih’s record handling controversial land expropriations.
Shih had demanded that reporters be excluded from a review of the Taoyuan Aerotropolis, one of the government’s flagship urban renewal projects that covers more than 3,000 hectares of land and affects more than 7,000 households, last year when he chaired a meeting as a member of the Ministry of the Interior’s urban planning commission.
The reason Shih then cited for the ejection order was that public interest was not a factor being considered by the commission.
As a professional expert whom the government has long consulted with on urban renewal and planning issues over the years, Shih has overlooked the importance of public participation in the decisionmaking process, Liao said.
The way he handled the review of the Taoyuan Aerotropolis project showed Shih disregarded the values of democracy, human rights, justice and sustainability, which are all vital to ensure that such projects are in the best interests of the public, Liao said.
With the departure of Control Yuan members Ma Yi-kung (馬以工), Liu Yuh-san (劉玉山) and Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄), who have identified several major flaws in land expropriation cases over the years, and the appointment of Shih, the only candidate among the 29 with a background in urban planning, people facing eviction from their homes as urban renewal efforts mushroom could be left helpless when they turn to the Control Yuan for help, Liao said.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative