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.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor
RSS