A personnel reshuffle at the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) approved by outgoing FSC chairman Gordon Chen (陳樹) hours before the Executive Yuan confirmed Chen’s resignation could be controversial, Personnel Administration Minister Chen Ching-hsiu (陳清秀) said yesterday.
Article 22 of the Civil Service Employment Act (公務人員任用法) bars politically appointed officials from reshuffling personnel after they have tendered a resignation letter.
Gordon Chen (陳樹) tendered his resignation from the post of FSC chairman on Nov. 19 and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) approved his resignation on Friday, the Executive Yuan said in a statement on Friday night.
Chen Ching-hsiu said Gordon Chen did not violate the regulation because he signed off on the personnel adjustment before Nov. 19, the day he offered his resignation.
However, the paperwork should have been suspended if FSC staff had known Gordon Chen had already submitted his letter of resignation, Chen Ching-hsiu said. Chen Ching-hsiu said he would look into the matter and seek to determine when the paperwork was done.
Incoming FSC chairman Sean Chen (陳冲) can decide whether he wants to ratify or revoke the reshuffle previously okayed by Gordon Chen, Chen Ching-hsiu said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), who had previously singled out Gordon Chen to be replaced “for his incompetence,” said the Cabinet could push forward the date for a Cabinet reshuffle in view of the continuing drop in the government’s approval rate.
However, a Cabinet official told the Taipei Times yesterday that the replacement of Gordon Chen “did not suggest that the Cabinet is getting close to a Cabinet reshuffle.”
“A better time to adjust Cabinet personnel would be in the days before the Lunar New Year [on Jan. 24], not now,” said the official, who requested anonymity
The official said a Cabinet reshuffle at this moment would hamper passage of the government’s budget request for the next year, which is still pending legislative approval.
The legislature has yet to decide on a date to end the current session, but it is required by the Constitution to begin a new session on Feb. 1, the last day of the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday, which will start on Jan. 24.
A reshuffled Cabinet launching a new legislative session after the Lunar New Year would be a good opportunity to make a fresh start, the official said.
KMT legislative caucus whip Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said yesterday she supported a Cabinet reshuffle, saying that the six months the new government had been in office was enough for Cabinet officials to demonstrate their competence.
At a separate setting yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said the replacement of Gordon Chen showed that the government had failed to respond appropriately to the global financial crisis, adding that Sean Chen was expected to do a better job.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
Also See: EDITORIAL: Changing more than Chens
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese