The Control Yuan yesterday impeached one incumbent and two former officials at Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), as well as a former Ministry of Economic Affairs official, for mismanagement that caused mammoth debts at the state-owned utility.
Four Control Yuan members, led by Liu Yuh-san (劉玉山), launched a probe into Taipower management in April in response to a public outcry over increases in electricity prices. The probe focused on Taipower policies to purchase electricity from businesses using cogeneration systems and from independent power producers.
Control Yuan members impeached former Taipower chairman Edward Chen (陳貴明), former Taipower president Tu Cheng-yi (涂正義), Taipower president Lee Han-shen (李漢申) and former Bureau of Energy director Yeh Huey-ching (葉惠青) for “dereliction of duty” involving “severe irregularities.”
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The Control Yuan meeting approved the impeachment of the four officials and referred them to the judiciary to face possible judicial responsibility for “irregularities” and “failing to safeguard the interests of the company.”
According to the probe, the trio of Taipower officials failed to renew contracts for the procurement of electricity with nine independent power producers in accordance with changes in the nation’s interest rates as stipulated in their long-term contracts, resulting in an extra cost of NT$5.9 billion (US$197 million).
The Control Yuan said irregularities between Taipower and the private power producers included Taipower purchasing electricity from the firms at a higher price than its own electricity generation cost, when its power reserve capacity was already well above stipulated reserves.
Taipower officials often quit or retire only to take posts at private power providers that sell electricity back to Taipower, leaving much room for irregularities, Control Yuan member Yeh Yao-peng (葉耀鵬) said.
Yeh was impeached for granting permission in July 2006 to Hsin Yuan Power Corp, a cogeneration corporation, to install 490 megawatts in capacity when he knew that Taipower had sufficient power reserves, imposing additional costs on Taipower, which began purchasing surplus electricity from the corporation in June 2009.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS