■ POLITICS
Official’s pension may drop
Former justice minister Morley Shih (施茂林) is likely to lose an approximate NT$200,000 (US$6,600) on his pension after Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) rejected his request to retire as a prosecutor. “His request is not appropriate and not good” Wang said yesterday. By law, a prosecutor’s position is a life-time position unless he or she resigns. Shih was a prosecutor-general of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office prior to his ministerial post. “We must maintain the independence that belongs to prosecutors so they will not be interfered with or affected by other political facts,” Wang said, without elaborating. Deputy Minister of Justice Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) said the difference between retiring as a prosecutor and retiring as a regular government officer was an additional NT$200,384 in pension money.
■DEFENSE
Minister makes base gaffe
Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) was criticized yesterday for being unfamiliar with the nation’s military bases. On Wednesday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) asked during the legislature’s Diplomacy and National Defense Committee meeting whether it would be possible to relocate the military base at Songshan Airport to Taoyuan Airport, to which Chen replied there was no military airport there. It was later pointed out that there is a military facility there. Chen, formerly an Air Force commander-in-chief, later admitted his mistake. KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-min (帥化民) said Chen had left the military a while before he took up the minister’s office, urging the public to have patience.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
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