An internal conflict within the semi-official Red Cross Society of the ROC (
Chen denied the accusations.
Red Cross of Taiwan Deputy Secretary General Kuan Jeng-chee (
"If proven true, the case is likely to be another Chung Hsing Bills scandal," Lin said at yesterday's hearing, alluding to the accusations of embezzlement made against People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) in December 1999.
Lin said that the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice should conduct a thorough investigation into the allegation.
Lin also said Chen was suspected of making inappropriate personnel appointments and collecting a year-end bonus after serving only four and half months in office.
Kuan yesterday presented a handwritten petition stating that Chen had sexually harassed numerous female colleagues, including Yang Yi-hsiu (
In response, Chen yesterday said that Kuan's accusations were groundless and were made due to personal resentment.
Chen said that Kuan, facing retirement, is upset with Chen for trying to persuade Kuan to accept retirement in March.
He also said that the Red Cross's 921 earthquake relief operation aimed to provide necessary assistance to earthquake victims for their immediate needs.
"Wiring the donations to my personal account in order to further appropriate the funds quickly is an act in accordance with Red Cross' rules," Chen said yesterday, adding that the society's board and supervisory committees had both given their written approval.
Yang and Feng, moreover, threw their support behind Chen yesterday, saying that that they had never been sexually harassed by Chen.
Attending yesterday's public hearing, officials of the interior ministry, however, said that the ministry, which is the Red Cross's supervisory body, could not interfere with the Red Cross's internal affairs unless its own committees were to question Chen's alleged misconduct.
"Regulations governing civil organizations stipulate that no funds should be deposited into a personal account, except for circulating and emergency funds," Chiang Kuo-jen (
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
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘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)