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Kaohsiung World Games organizer promises openness

All employees for the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung will be hired in an open and transparent manner, the head of the organizing committee promised yesterday after Kaohsiung City councilors across party lines accused her of persistently ignoring employment protocols.

This is not the first time that Olympic track and field bronze medalist Chi Cheng (紀政), the chief executive officer of the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee, has come under fire for seemingly going against the government's recruitment procedures.

Despite admitting that she had violated procedure in the recent hiring of three professionals, Chi said that they were all experts in their respective fields.

The criticism came during a meeting yesterday morning when Chi was giving a report on the progress of preparations for the games.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) City Councilor Lin Kuo-cheng (林國正) said while he respected Chi's reputation as a sportswoman, he had to condemn her for bypassing hiring regulations in spite of several previous warnings.

Lin said Chi's unwillingness to follow the rules had put an extra burden on the city's auditing department and something had to be done to ensure an open and fair recruitment process.

Chen Hsin-yu (陳信瑜) of the Democratic Progressive Party said that the committee might be making shady deals on the side.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) in June ordered that all recruitment had to be transparent, but Chi still approved the three names without ever making their positions available to the public, Chen said.

It is estimated that more than 3,200 athletes from 90 countries will participate in the games. More than 100,000 tourists are expected to visit, in addition to 300 foreign VIPs and 300 media workers from around the world.

The games will cost NT$1.76 billion (US$54 million), the committee has said.
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