The struggle for control of the Independent Evening Post (
During a press conference yesterday, editor in chief Ho Kuo-hua (
Concerns over the paper's financial crisis appeared to have eased, at least temporarily, after negotiations between the paper's management and employees on Tuesday.
But a new storm began to brew yesterday morning after Chen sent a notice to Ho saying he had been fired.
"I can understand why Chen wants me to hand over the editor in chief's post. I feel ashamed that I cannot provide my colleagues with a comfortable working environment," Ho said in a statement yesterday.
"What we employees want to strive for is not just our jobs, but our dignity at work," Ho added. "We hope the new owners will stop calling the employees `depraved workers.' After all, we are all certain that no one has slacked off at work since the ownership changed hands more than four months ago."
Ho's colleagues also decided to sign a petition protesting Chen's sacking of Ho even before the board of directors formally announced her presidency.
Led by deputy editor in chief Lu Tung-hsi (
The editorial department will keep the Post running to protect their readers' rights, the statement said.
Chen replaced Wang as the paper's president on Tuesday after financial problems delayed salary payments to the staff. Chen's plans to launch a reform plan to streamline personnel, which has triggered a strong backlash within the editorial department.
The paper's employees agreed to the management's plan to pay half of their February salaries yesterday and the other half on Monday.
The Independent Evening Post was the first evening paper to be independent of the KMT or any other political party and is famous for its independent reports and reviews.
After a financial crisis in 1995, however, the paper was taken over by KMT Taipei City Councilor Chen Cheng-chung (陳政忠), who led the paper down a pro-KMT path. The paper turned pro-DPP after Wang took over the company.
Now, with the paper's top post going to Chen, it is once again poised to swing back to the pro-KMT camp.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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