When a new team was introduced in late July to take over the cash-strapped Independent Evening Post (自立晚報), employees thought a changing of the guard would put the paper on a more solid footing. But reality appears to suggest otherwise.
"If the situation continues to deteriorate the way it has, the workers keep protesting and no financial backing can be found, the only solution is have the paper closed," Liu I-te (
Two weeks ago, the paper's workers' union filed a lawsuit against its former chairman Wang Shih-chien (
Only days later, the situation became more chaotic after the newly appointed Chang claimed his chairmanship wasn't valid because his appointment hadn't been approved by board members.
On July 26, it was widely reported that Chang, a doctor of Chinese medicine, had succeeded Wang as the Post's chairman.
But Chang said after the labor disputes re-emerged two weeks ago that he was being used by Wang as "a tool to evade his legal responsibilities."
On Tuesday, the paper's workers' union led a group of employees to protest in front of the DPP headquarters. They hoped the ruling party could help save the paper from perishing.
The group stressed their common ideology of challenging the KMT's dominance during its 54-year history and asked the DPP to expel Wang, a DPP Taipei City councilor, from the party.
But DPP authorities gave the petitioners a cold response, saying the party had no right to mete out a penalty to members who did not violate any party rules.
In the face of the paper's bleak financial outlook, Chang and Wang are denying any responsibility.
Chang told the Taipei Times yesterday that he was not able to offer any assistance for the time being, unless his status as the paper's chairman was cleared through the proper legal process.
Former chairman Wang said that his obligations with the paper were fulfilled when he handed over his managerial duties to the new team in July.
Wang said it was absurd to accuse him of embezzlement. According to Wang, the financial details concerning the newspaper have been made clear. He said the paper was NT$22 million in debt but was owed NT$37 million, meaning there was no deficit when he left.
A source at the newspaper told the Taipei Times yesterday that the paper's problems were not the fault of any individual, but were the combination of its protracted financial woes, its powerful and intransigent union and the fact that the new managers were unwilling to provide additional money.
There are 240 employees at the Post, who cost the paper NT$18 million per month.
Liu said it would be unfortunate if the paper was forced to close because under the new team, the paper has improved tremendously both in circulation and advertising.
"But if the union keeps pushing the management to the edge, the chance to find new capital will be very slim. Then the closing of the paper is inevitable," he said.
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
Taiwan must invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to keep abreast of the next technological leap toward automation, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said at the luanch ceremony of Taiwan AI and Robots Alliance yesterday. The world is on the cusp of a new industrial revolution centered on AI and robotics, which would likely lead to a thorough transformation of human society, she told an event marking the establishment of a national AI and robotics alliance in Taipei. The arrival of the next industrial revolution could be a matter of years, she said. The pace of automation in the global economy can
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,