Outgoing Control Yuan ombudswoman Chien Lin Hui-chun (錢林慧君) said she would pass on her opinions to incoming members that the Taiwan Provincial Government should be corrected over its hiring of former Government Information Office (GIO) official Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英) as she called on the public to supervise the government watchdog’s handling of the case.
Chien Lin, whose last day in the institution was yesterday, has been in charge of the investigation into Kuo’s hiring as a foreign affairs secretary and called the position tailor-made for Kuo to secure his public sector retirement pension.
Once an official at the now-defunct Government Information Office in Toronto, Canada, Kuo was dismissed in 2009 for making derisive remarks about ethnic Taiwanese in several articles published under his pseudonym, Fan Lan-chin (范蘭欽).
Kuo was hired by the provincial government when he was just months away from retirement age.
Chien Lin yesterday panned the Provincial Government for deliberately delaying its reply to the Control Yuan and again emphasized that the hiring procedure was flawed and biased.
She also requested that the Ministry of Civil Service carefully review whether the pension should be issued to Kuo, who retired in mid-July, and said she thinks it should not be.
Chien Lin said the ministry is now waiting for the Control Yuan’s reply, which must be discussed by members. Although she would not be able to participate in the discussion, she said, she would leave comments on the files accenting the invalid nature of Kuo’s appointment.
“The future Control Yuan and the legislators will keep on going after it in my stead. The public is also keeping their eyes on the case,” she said. “This is not a political question, but one concerning law and justice.”
Taiwan Provincial Government spokesperson Chien Chun-kan (簡俊淦) reiterated later yesterday that Kuo was hired legally and denied that the hiring process was hasty or superficial.
“Kuo was indeed under 65 when he was hired, which was not in violation of the regulations concerning civil servants employment,” Chien said.
Insisting that the hiring process was “completely legal,” Chien said that the provincial government, however, has proposed several modifying measures “in order to quiet the society’s misgivings,” such as prolonging the announcement period and adjusting the percentage weight of different kinds of evaluations.
He said whether Kuo is to receive his pension is to be adjudicated by the Ministry of Civil Service.
Ministry’s Department of Retirement and Survivor Relief Director Lu Ming-tai (呂明泰) said the ministry has not received the provincial government’s reply on the case of Kuo’s retirement, which is required for a final decision.
While Kuo’s pension is now being suspended, he would be able to receive his pension if his retirement is judged to be legitimate, he added.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese