Lawmakers serving on the legislature's Transportation Committee yesterday passed a resolution requiring all companies owned by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) to amend their organization rules within two months.
Specifically, the amendment requires MOTC officials to serve as board members of these organizations and take at least half of the seats. In addition, board chairmanships must be held by a minister.
The resolution was proposed by Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Five other lawmakers, including Chen Ken-te (陳根德) and Lin Ming-chen (林明溱) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) of the DPP, seconded her proposal.
At yesterday's meeting, the ministry was also expected to brief lawmakers about the companies and private corporations that the ministry owns directly or indirectly.
These include Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信), Taoyuan International Airport Service Co (桃園航勤), Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) and the China Aviation Development Foundation (航發會).
grand hotel
However, most lawmakers were interested in hearing the briefing on the Duen Mou Foundation (
The MOTC oversees the operation of the Duen Mou Foundation.
The proposal came after foundation chairwoman Christine Tsung (
Yeh said the government had the right to oversee the operations of these companies because they are funded by taxpayer money.
"These executives are reluctant to show up [at the legislative meeting] because government representatives fail to control half of the seats on the board," she said.
In response, minister Tsai Duei (
"Unless the ministry controls more than 50 percent of shares in any corporation, it has no right to demand half of the seats," he said.
financial crisis
In related news, the ministry was also grilled yesterday about Far Eastern Air Transport's (FAT,
Civil Aeronautics Administration director-general Billy Chang (張國政) said that the company had received US$1.5 million on Wednesday to help pay employee salaries.
Chang also said that FAT's employees had each received payments equivalent to 80 percent of their base salaries and subsidies.
Chang confirmed yesterday evening that Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor (
Meanwhile, the Kinmen County Council is scheduled to review the possibility of investing in FAT next Wednesday, the Central News Agency reported yesterday.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it