Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislators yesterday criticized the Veterans Affairs Council (VAC) for recruiting retired military officers for executive positions in natural gas companies it has stakes in, calling for a return to more “professional” management.
The natural gas companies in which the VAC has a stake gained attention after a gas explosion in Taipei’s Sindian District (新店) last week, in which Shin Shin National Gas Co was blamed for its inattention to a reported gas leak.
TSU Legislator Yeh Chin-ling (葉津鈴) said of the 25 natural gas providers in the country, the VAC has a stake in 16, adding that the monopoly is a result of privileges bestowed by the Martial Law-era Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
“Military generals can give commands to soldiers, but can they do that to gas? Is the expertise needed to manage a corporation the same as that in the military?” Yeh asked, urging the VAC to withdraw from the natural gas business and return the companies to CPC Corp, Taiwan.
Veterans Affairs Council Director Tung Hsiang-lung (董翔龍), responding to a Control Yuan report questioning the appropriateness of employing retired military officers as chief executives of natural gas companies, said in May that it is more “cost-effective” to hire retired military officers rather than corporate professionals.
The retired officers would have to be paid a pension every month if they are not working at these companies anyway, he added.
TSU Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) criticized the remarks, saying that lives cannot be weighed against money, and that CPC should take over the companies and turn the businesses into private operations.
While the TSU is also against CPC monopolizing the natural gas business, the party disagrees even more with the VAC hiring retired military officers to run the companies, she said.
VAC Department of Business Management Senior Executive Officer Wang Hsiang-chun (王湘君) said the council’s average stake in the natural gas companies is about 30 percent, while the rest of the shares are held by private investors.
Department official Yang Ming-fu (楊明富) said that only some, not all, of the natural gas companies are run by retired military officers.
CPC Corp, Taiwan’s Natural Gas Department director Wang Tse-wei (王澤為) said the firm would be glad to take over control of the companies if that is what the government decides.
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