Former minister of labor Pan Shih-wei (潘世偉) yesterday insinuated that he was ousted because he had got in somebody else’s way of raking in money.
Pan tendered his resignation during a telephone call to Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) on Thursday morning after a magazine reported about his alleged extramarital affair. Jiang approved his resignation later that day.
However, one day after leaving his post, Pan lashed out at the government’s “administrative system” on Facebook, saying that the “ganging up for self-interests” inside the system is “truly horrible.”
“Those [who ganged up] are high-ranking civil servants. They know how to plan and use the budget, and how to enrich their own coffers and use their own people to justify the process,” Pan said. “It is all in the name of the public, but in fact it is to line their own pockets.”
“It was simply because I was in the way of their plan to amass fortune,” he said.
Pan also rebutted media reports saying he failed to attend a meeting with the premier on the day that he tendered his resignation, calling the report “a machination.”
“After I called the premier in the morning, I received a call from the Executive Yuan for a meeting at 11:15am. I bumped into New Taipei City Deputy Mayor [Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢)] and Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) in the Executive Yuan,” he said.
“Before entering the premier’s office, I also happened to meet central bank Governor [Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南)], who told me that it must have been someone from your [agency who had schemed against you]. I seconded his comment,” the former minister said.
“So it was absolutely nonsense to claim that I did not meet with the premier,” he said.
“Does the media machination have to be like this?” he asked.
Media reports quoted Executive Yuan spokesman Sun Lih-Chyun (孫立群) as saying that Pan tendered his resignation verbally to Jiang and failed to meet with the premier.
Pan said that when he met with the premier, before the spokesperson made the statement, Jiang had agreed not to make public his resignation for the time being.
“We needed to make our comments in line with each other [following the spokesperson’s remarks], so we had to say that I would meet the premier in the afternoon,” Pan said, adding that Jiang had made the decision “only under group pressure.”
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
Taiwan Travelogue (臺灣漫遊錄), which earlier this week became the first Taiwanese novel to win the International Booker Prize, is to be adapted into a television series through a Taiwan-Japan coproduction, producer Chang Chen-yu (張辰漁) said yesterday. Chang, a producer at World Softest Production Film Co, wrote on Facebook that the company had been searching for projects with international appeal that retain a strong Taiwanese identity after colleagues and Japanese partners strongly recommended the novel. After reading the book, Chang said he immediately decided to pursue the screen rights. “A great story has the power to transcend time and borders, and connect countless people,”
RSS