Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) yesterday apologized for causing trouble for Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar) chairman Wu Rong-ming (吳容明), who has accused Chiang of exerting undue influence in order to install his nephew as the company’s new president.
Chiang yesterday said that he and Wu were good friends and he regretted how things had developed.
“I am sorry to have caused so much trouble for him because of my unintentional remarks,” Chiang said.
Chiang did not, however, apologize for allegedly using his personal influence to sway decisions on appointments at Taisugar.
Chiang made the remarks before addressing a financial forum in Taipei yesterday afternoon.
Wu unexpectedly tendered his resignation to the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Nov. 14, just two months after taking up the post on Sept. 1. Minister Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘), who is in Lima, Peru, has not yet approved Wu’s resignation.
Wu’s abrupt move was reportedly triggered by pressure from Chiang to install his nephew, Chen Ching-bin (陳清彬), as the company’s president. Chen is currently a company vice president and acted as interim president before Wu took over.
Wu was reportedly considering candidates other than Chen for the presidency.
Chiang said that he had only met with Wu on two occasions since Wu became chairman in September. The first time they met was when Wu took the helm of Taisugar, Chiang said, adding that Wu apologized to him for “crowding out” his nephew.
While general managers at state-run businesses were promoted from within when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was previously in power, Chiang said that was not the case during the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) eight years in office.
Chiang said he mentioned this when Cabinet Secretary-General Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) asked him about his opinions on the promotion of staff at state-run enterprises. Chiang said he told Hsueh that if at all possible, it would be a good idea to promote general managers of state-run enterprises from within because it would help boost the morale of employees.
Chiang said it might be because he emphasized the importance of this point that the subsequent misunderstanding occurred.
Chiang also said he intended to tender his resignation again from his position as chairman of the Sinocon Industrial Standards Foundation after his first attempt to resign was rejected by its board of directors.
The foundation’s mission is to establish standards in conjunction with Chinese business leaders.
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
RSS