The Executive Yuan’s nomination of a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator’s wife as a new National Communications Commission (NCC) member has drawn mixed reactions from lawmakers, with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators dismissed the nomination as simply “returning political favors.”
Since NCC commissioners Chang Shi-chung (張時中) and Chen Yuan-ling (陳元玲) resigned before their terms concluded, the Executive Yuan on Friday said it has nominated former television anchorwoman Wang Yung-ho (汪用和) and NCC Counselor Chiang Yu-fen (江幽芬) to be the new NCC commissioners.
Wang is the wife of former KMT legislator Justin Chou (周守訓), who lost his seat in Taipei’s Datong District (大同) earlier this year to DPP challenger Pasuya Yao (姚文智).
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the nomination was another example of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “childish” recruitment methods.
“It [the nomination] is nothing more than returning a political favor,” Ker said. “It [the Executive Yuan] should not make a rash decision, even if there is nobody qualified in their camp to choose from.”
Ker said it takes more than media experience to be an NCC commissioner, as the body’s members are in charge of the nation’s telecommunications industry.
Ker added that his caucus cannot accept the nomination, but did not say what actions it would take to abrogate the nominations.
However, KMT caucus whip Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said KMT legislators have all responded positively to the nomination.
“In this age, each person is evaluated by his or her capabilities,” Wu said. “Women and men have equal rights in this country. A woman or a man should not be treated differently simply because of their spouse.”
The nominations will be reviewed by the Legislative Yuan.
Aside from her experience as an anchorwoman at Taiwan Television, Wang has a bachelor’s degree in library and information science, as well as an executive master’s in Business Administration from National Taiwan University. She is also chairwoman of Yushan Entertainment. She would finish the term left vacant by Chang, which expires in July 2014.
Chiang, on the other hand, is a senior civil servant that has worked her way up from the Directorate General of Telecommunications before the agency became the NCC.
Chiang has a law degree from Soochow University and specializes in communications regulations and law. If elected, Chiang would take Chen’s position, which expires in July 2016.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS