President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) nomination of Control Yuan members on Thursday drew more negative reaction from the opposition and other critics yesterday, with one pundit saying that Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) had been involved in the “politically motivated” nomination process.
Wang Mei-yu (王美玉), former president of the Chinese-language China Times, made the list of 29 nominees because of Wu, who could have a personal reason for his endorsement, radio host Clara Chou (周玉蔻) wrote in her column published yesterday on my-formosa.com, an online news Web site.
Wu, a reporter at the China Times before entering politics, was a close friend of Want Want China Times Groups chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), who owns several media outlets, including the China Time, magazines, television companies and online news Web sites, Chou said.
Recommending Wang, who is Tsai’s right-hand man, could benefit Wu media-wise and give him a boost in his competition with other potential 2016 presidential aspirants, including New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential primary next year, Chou said.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said the Control Yuan nominations were “horrible” and appeared to be Ma’s way of rewarding his confidants — given that most of the nominees are controversial figures or former government officials with bad reputations.
“It seemed to us that Ma could care less about what other people think, because his term will be up in two years,” DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) told a press conference in Taipei.
As an example of a problematic nominee, Lin cited former Food and Drug Administration director-general Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲), who was accused of covering up cases of starch products contaminated with maleic acid during a nationwide scandal in May last year.
Former Council of Indigenous Peoples minister Chang Jen-hsiang (章仁香), former KMT lawmaker Chiang Yi-wen (江綺雯), former Public Construction Commission minister Fan Liang-shiow (范良銹) and former Council for Economic Planning and Development deputy minister Nancy Chen (陳小紅) were all Ma’s subordinates, Lin said.
Chang’s performance at the Council of Indigenous Peoples had been criticized by other KMT lawmakers, while Fan was also accused of malfeasance when he served as director of the Central Emergency Operation Center during Typhoon Morakot, which left 677 dead, 22 missing and caused more than NT$100 billion (US$3.3 billion at current exchange rates) in damages in August 2009.
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STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
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