Two Aboriginal legislators questioned the integrity of Control Yuan nominee Hsu Ping-chin (�?i) yesterday during the legislature’s final question-and-answer session ahead of the vote on President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) nominees for the yuan.
Hsu is the only Aborigine on list of Control Yuan nominees.
Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Legislator May Chin (高金素梅) said she had received a complaint that Hsu had allegedly sexually harassed students when he taught at National Ilan University.
Chin, who is an Atayal like Hsu, said that Hsu had been forced to retire in 2003 because of the alleged harassment. She said she received the information from a friend of Hsu’s wife, but could not reveal the identity of her source. She urged Ma to investigate the allegation.
Another female lawmaker, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩), joined Chin in making the accusation.
Hsu defended himself, swearing on his life that he was innocent.
“I would die in a car accident if I had really done it,” he said.
Hsu later tried to explain himself to Chen after the question-and-answer session ended.
DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) criticized Hsu as biased and unfit to be a Control Yuan member. Citing the biography of Hsu provided to the legislature, Yeh questioned Hsu’s ability to transcend party lines to supervise public officials.
“[I] became the nation’s first Aboriginal doctor of law researching the Three Principles of the People after having constantly pursued advanced study of Sun Yat-sen’s (孫中山) ideas,” Yeh quoted Hsu as saying his biographical sketch.
Chin said Hsu was an Atayal who knew nothing about the difficulties of Aborigines but only how to fawn on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Hsu told legislators that he would transcend party lines even though he believed in Sun’s ideas.
The fate of the 29 Control Yuan nominees has been the subject of speculation from media outlets, given the sparks between some of the nominees and legislators during the extraordinary interpellation sessions over the past three days.
Some KMT legislators have threatened to vote down nominees such as former DPP legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄), who was named vice president of the yuan, and former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator Chien Lin Hui-chun (錢林慧君) and Chen Yao-chang (陳耀昌), a former deputy director of the “red shirt” campaign to oust former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Asked for a comment, KMT caucus secretary-general Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) said he would prefer it if KMT headquarters would allow its legislators to make their own decisions on the nominees.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on