The Control Yuan impeached Legislative Secretary-General Lin Hsi-shan (林錫山) yesterday over an investment irregularity, but Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said Lin would remain in his job until the Judicial Yuan makes a decision on disciplinary action.
By a vote of 7 to 5, Lin was impeached for violating Article 13 of the Civil Servants Work Act (公務員服務法), which stipulates that public servants cannot hold more than 10 percent of a company’s shares.
Control Yuan member Yeh Yao-peng (葉耀鵬) was assigned to investigate the case after the Control Yuan found in Lin’s property disclosure statement that he held 91.8 percent of shares of an investment company — with an estimated value of NT$23.5 million (US$800,300) — owned by his sister in 2009.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Lin admitted to owning the shares when he was questioned by the Control Yuan, but said he did not know that the investment was not legally permitted, Yeh said.
The case was referred to the Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission under the Judicial Yuan to make a disciplinary decision.
In 2010, Duan Wei (韋伯韜), chairman of Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Co (TTL), was found to have violated the same clause.
He was given a demerit by the commission and stepped down from TTL.
Lin said he respected the decision made by the Control Yuan, adding that he has righted the wrong and told Wang that he would accept any punishment.
Lin is right-hand man to Wang, who appointed him to the position in 1999, after Wang was elected speaker of the legislature for the first time.
The irregularity had nothing to do with acts performed in the course of his official duties and with his personal integrity, Wang said.
“The legislature still needs Lin’s help,” Wang said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not