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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Politics
No changes to nominee list
A spokesman for the Presidential Office yesterday dismissed reports that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) will revise his Control Yuan nominations. Chen Wen-tsung (陳文宗), director of the Department of Public Affairs, said the president has no intention of altering his nominations. He was responding to reports that Chen will change some of his nominees to facilitate approval by the Legislative Yuan. The reports claimed that the new nominees for president and vice president of the Control Yuan will be Clement Chang (張建邦) and former Grand Justice Su Chun-hsiung (蘇俊雄), instead of Chang and academic Michael Hsiao (蕭新煌). Some of the nominees who have been given new posts, such as Wu Feng-shan (吳豐山), who has been appointed as a minister-without-portfolio, and Liu Yu-shan (劉玉山), who is now secretary-general of the Executive Yuan, will not be replaced. He urged the legislative caucuses to coordinate between themselves to confirm the nominees as soon as possible.

■ Society
Foundation touts law
The Modern Women's Foundation urged the government yesterday to set an example in implementing the new Sexual Harassment Prevention Law (性騷擾防治法). "The law is re-establishing a friendly environment for the public, and the government needs to lead the efforts in implementing the law, foundation chief executive officer Chang Chin-li (張錦麗) said. "We will carry out an impromptu inspection of government agencies in March to see how they are doing with the law." Under the new law, a victim of sexual harassment can file a complaint with the company for which the perpetrator works or with the local government. The agency or the local government must then complete investigations into the complaint within a certain period a time. Chang said the law stipulates clear penalties for perpetrators, but the mechanisms need to be carried out by the agencies and prevention committees of the local governments. She said implementation of the law may be difficult and she hopes the local governments cooperate with employers to expedite the process.

■ Society
Lee to grace book fair
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) will visit the 2006 Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) on Sunday to sign copies of new books published by Taiwan Advocates, a think tank founded by Lee. This will be the first time that Taiwan Advocates will have a booth at the TIBE, which is slated to be held from today through Sunday at the World Trade Center. The foundation's booth will feature its two newly-published books, titled Taiwan Does not Belong to China and The Taiwanese in the New Era in Chinese, as well as the seven-volume Prospects -- Taiwan series which is scheduled to be released on Saturday.

■ Politics
Ex-CLA boss eyes race
Former Council of Labor Affairs chief Chen Chu (陳菊) said yesterday in Kaohsiung that she will seek the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) nomination for Kaohsiung mayor. Chen, who left her post at the council on Sept. 2 last year to take the blame for an Aug. 21 riot of Thai laborers, said she would follow the DPP process for choosing its candidates. If she fails to win the nomination, she said, she will throw her weight behind the party's candidate. She has installed campaign billboards around Kaohsiung although she has not formally announced her bid.

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