Taipei City Deputy Mayor Chen Hsiung-wen (陳雄文) was named the new minister of labor yesterday, filling the position vacated by Pan Shih-wei (潘世偉), who resigned from the post last month amid news reports of an inappropriate relationship with his secretary.
The Executive Yuan said Chen is considered an expert in environmental pollution control, administration and industrial policy planning.
Labor organizations were surprised by the appointment, saying that Chen had never dealt with labor issues and that he has no understanding of labor policies.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Prior to becoming deputy mayor, Chen worked in the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and as commissioner of the Taipei City Department of Economic Development, where he was in charge of the 2010 Taipei International Flora Expo.
The Taiwan Labor Front issued a statement yesterday saying they were shocked and angry at Chen’s appointment.
“Chen Hsiung-wen’s professional background is in environmental engineering and he has spent most of his career with the EPA and its related bodies. Later he was promoted to the deputy mayor position, but he did not have any dealings with labor and employment issues, or with wage and workplace safety issues,” the group said.
“The Ma administration has now appointed Chen as minister of labor, but he has never been involved in nor cared for labor issues. This appointment is only for disbursing political privileges among the inner circles of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). It totally ignores the rights of all workers in this country, and amounts to a declaration of war on labor groups,” Taiwan Labor Front secretary-general Sun Yu-lien (孫友聯) said.
“We are very doubtful that Chen can handle issues such as low wages, foreign migrant labor, and part-time and contract workers’ conditions. We shall see how Chen conducts next week’s negotiations on the proposal to raise the minimum wage,” Sun added.
The Executive Yuan said it believes Chen will make important contributions to Taiwan’s labor policies and help continue the government’s work in the area.
It said Chen made the list of model civil servants in 1994 and 2002, and received a Sun Yun-suan Foundation award for distinguished service in 2004.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS