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.
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
‘COMMITTED TO DETERRENCE’: Washington would stand by its allies, but it can only help as much as countries help themselves, Raymond Greene said The US is committed to deterrence in the first island chain, but it should not bear the burden alone, as “freedom is not free,” American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said in a speech at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s “Strengthening Resilience: Defense as the Engine of Development” seminar in Taipei yesterday. In the speech, titled “Investing Together and a Secure and Prosperous Future,” Greene highlighted the contributions of US President Donald Trump’s administration to Taiwan’s defense efforts, including the establishment of supply chains for drones and autonomous systems, offers of security assistance and the expansion of
RSS