Control Yuan member Chou Yang-shan (周陽山) is seeking to declassify the results of his investigation that reportedly held former representative to Singapore Vanessa Shih (史亞平) accountable for undermining bilateral relations during her tenure in the city-state because of “dereliction of duty.”
Chou made the remarks yesterday after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appeared to be playing down the charges he brought against Shih in his classified report at a meeting of the Control Yuan’s Committee on Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs on June 20.
Asked to verify the reported allegations against Shih, Chou, via his assistant, said yesterday that he would only comment if the committee decides at a meeting today to declassify the report.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Chou was quoted by the Chinese-language United Evening News as saying that his investigation led to a conclusion that Shih was guilty of “dereliction of duty” and had “affected bilateral relations” between Taiwan and Singapore. Chou reportedly said he had already “pointed out facts” that substantiated the allegations, but that the ministry “did not get to the point.”
In consideration of the “sensitivity” of bilateral relations between Taiwan and Singapore as he was repeatedly told by Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) and Shih during his questioning of the two, her “negligence” was described in the report as being “implicit” rather than overt, the newspaper quoted Chou as saying.
On Monday, the Chinese-language China Times reported the existence of such a report by Chou, refueling the controversy about Shih’s performance during her three-year tenure in Singapore.
As of press time yesterday, little information on the report had been revealed, except for the disclosure of an incident in November last year in which the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore was not invited to a centennial commemoration of the Hsinhai Revolution jointly organized by Taiwan’s National Sun Yet-sen Memorial Hall and its counterpart in Singapore.
On Monday evening, Shih told the media that the incident was the only reason she was charged with dereliction of duty by the ombudsman.
The ministry yesterday continued to throw its support behind Shih, with ministry spokesman Steve Hsia (夏季昌) saying that the bulk of the report was about the absence of staff from the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore at the centennial commemoration of the Hsinhai Revolution.
Echoing what Yang has said about Shih in the past few months, Hsia said the contribution that Shih had made to enhance relations with Singapore “cannot be denied.”
The controversy surrounding Shih started about half a year ago, ranging from questions about her political and diplomatic dealings with Singaporean politicians to personal matters. That was just about the same time that rumors circulated that she was to be transferred back to the ministry to take up the vice minister post.
Despite the widespread rumors, Shih, born in 1962, was promoted to vice minister on June 23, making her the youngest female diplomat ever to assume the post.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) yesterday suggested that the Control Yuan make public part of the report to remove doubts that Shih was promoted because she is a close confidante of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus questioned the necessity of the report being classified “secret” and called for full disclosure of the report.
While the Control Yuan has said the report was classified secret because of concerns it could “damage national interests,” DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said it was ironic that it had declassified its reports on several controversial diplomatic projects during the former DPP administration’s time in office “without concern about Taiwan’s foreign relations.”
“Full disclosure of the report would not damage Taiwan-Singapore relations; instead it would reassure Singapore that Taiwan is taking this matter seriously,” she said.
Chen also said the Control Yuan’s position was inconsistent.
“[The Control Yuan] initially concluded in the report that Shih committed a serious dereliction of duty, but it has now changed its position and says it only recommended that the Executive Yuan impose the necessary punishment on responsible officials,” Chen said.
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said the ministry endorsement of Shih’s performance from the very beginning was “like a slap in the Control Yuan’s face” and was in contrast to Singapore’s private complaint to Taiwan about Shih’s performance.
People First Party caucus whip Thomas Lee (李桐豪) demanded an explanation from the Ma administration on why Shih was promoted to vice minister when Chou’s investigation against Shih was still ongoing.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their