An opposition party lawmaker yesterday slammed newly appointed acting Director-General of Health Twu Shiing-jer (
PFP Legislator Yang Fu-mei (楊富美) held a press conference yesterday accusing Twu of being unqualified for and unprepared to lead the Department of Health (DOH) , citing a 1999 Control Yuan report regarding Twu's qualifications for the post of acting director of the Center of Disease Control's (CDC) division of quarantine and intervention activities.
According to the report, Twu was hired by the DOH in December 1998 to work as a researcher in the Center of Preventive Medicine.
However, instead of working as a researcher, Twu was immediately transferred to be acting director of the division of quarantine and intervention activities under the CDC, without following the proper procedures of credential verification and examination and without the traditional request for DOH approval.
"Twu, who was illegitimately hired by the DOH two years ago, is undoubtedly unqualified to be the nation's top health administrator," Yang said, urging the Cabinet to choose another suitable candidate within a month.
"What our nation needs is a director-general of health who not only has medical expertise, but is a person who has followed the correct legal path before assuming the position," she said.
After the former director-general Lee Ming-liang (李明亮) resigned from the post on Sunday, Premier Yu Shyi-kun appointed Twu -- the incumbent deputy director-general -- to be the new DOH chief, adding that, for the time being, he had no plans to vet potential replacement candidates.
Before succeeding former vice minister Huang Fu-yuan (
At the press conference, Yang accounted for Twu's rapid rise in the DOH to his close ties to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
"Promoting himself as a close aide to the president, Twu has sought higher government office by elbowing out his supervisors," she said.
After hearing of Yang's criticism, Twu said that as a political appointee, he does not need an examination certification or a history as a civil servant.
As for not following proper procedures before his 1998 transfer to the CDC, Twu said that "the DOH hired me due to my expertise in the field of disease control and the department thought there would be no problem with my working as a researcher while carrying on as CDC director."
Twu also said the charge that he forced Lee to resign was unfair.
"I was the most reluctant to see Lee leave," Twu said. "With Lee as director-general, I not only learned a lot, but also avoided carrying such a heavy work load."
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