The Ministry of Finance and its subordinate, the Directorate General of Customs, both received a brace of official censures yesterday as the Control Yuan dished out six in one day.
The finance ministry was found at fault for failing to effectively repossess illegally-occupied state-owned land as well as its failure to properly allocate gauze masks during the SARS outbreak earlier this year.
Customs officials were also censured for their role in the mask mix-up that led to a shortage of protective equipment for medical workers on the front line of the fight against the contagion.
The second censure handed down to the Directorate General of Customs was linked to a Control Yuan investigation into the illegal export of stolen cars.
"The finance ministry was censured since it failed to oversee the allocation and management of gauze masks conducted by the Directorate General of Customs during the last SARS outbreak," the censure, proposed by Control Yuan members Hsieh Ching-huei (謝慶輝), Huang Wu-tzu (黃武次) and Lin Chu-liang (林鉅鋃), stated.
Hsieh and his colleagues found that customs officials delayed the delivery of up to 20 million masks to hospitals in April and May.
"The Directorate General of Customs' failure to make a timely response to the market deserves a review of its procedures and that of its superior," the censure stated.
The Control Yuan's investigation into the finance ministry's seizure of state-owned government residences, initiated by Lin Chiang-tsai (
"The finance ministry failed to perform its role of coordinating subordinates and other government agencies to execute the retrieval plan. The failure produced limited results and the occupancy problem remains serious," the censure stated.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or