The Council of Agriculture (COA) this year has the highest number of officials impeached among ministries or ministry-level agencies in the Cabinet, according to Control Yuan member Lin Chu-liang (林鉅鋃).
The Control Yuan had impeached 41 officials in 18 cases this year as of Dec. 5, when Lin and his colleagues went to the Executive Yuan on Friday for an annual visit, he said.
The COA had six of its current or former officials impeached, followed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s five, Lin said, adding that ministers in charge should review these cases and prevent similar violations in the future.
Lin also pointed out that the Control Yuan was still awaiting responses from government agencies censured in several cases in the past, including 54 involving the Cabinet, as of the end of last month.
He suggested during the visit that Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and the ministers present should take a proactive attitude in dealing with problems highlighted by the Control Yuan through censure.
According to the Control Yuan’s Web site, the 41 impeached also include officials in local governments, judges and the Control Yuan’s own secretary general, Chen Feng-yi (陳豐義).
Chen was impeached in July for destroying documents that had not expired, in contravention of the Archives Act (國家檔案法).
Chen’s case now sits in the Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission under the Judicial Yuan, which is to decide his disciplinary action.
The commission suspended a review of Chen’s case after prosecutors began a criminal investigation into him.
Other notable impeachments this year include former Cabinet secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世) in June, and Nantou County Commissioner Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in September.
Lin Yi-shih resigned in June last year after he was accused of corruption, and was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison for abusing his power to threaten people for money, and for possessing unaccountable assets in April.
He was impeached in July, but a review of the disciplinary action — which could include fines — was suspended because prosecutors decided to appeal.
Lee has been suspended since November last year on corruption allegations and was indicted in March, leading to the Ministry of the Interior sending his case to the Control Yuan.
No decisions have yet been made on Lee’s disciplinary action, according the Control Yuan’s Web site.
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