The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that Taoyuan Metro Corp chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan (何煖軒) is to become the new China Airlines (CAL) chairman, with an inauguration ceremony scheduled for today.
In addition to Taoyuan Metro Corp, 63-year-old Ho has also served as deputy minister of transportation and communications, as well as director-general of the National Freeway Bureau, Bureau of High Speed Rail and the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA).
Ho’s appointment is expected to secure unanimous approval at a meeting of the company’s board of directors today, in which the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and other shareholders representing government agencies hold a majority. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled to follow the board directors’ meeting, during which Ho is expected to announce the new CAL president.
Photo: CNA
Industry representatives have predicted that Taiwan Air Cargo Terminal Ltd chairman Hsieh Shih-chien (謝世謙) will assume the post of the airline’s president.
Ho’s first task as the new CAL chairman will be to resolve the company’s disputes with its flight attendants, who on Tuesday night voted to take industrial action against the airline.
Ho said that he is confident he can resolve the dispute and avoid a strike.
Although most of his past experience has involved highway or railway transportation, Ho said that the aviation industry is not completely foreign to him as he was involved in cross-strait negotiations on issues related to direct flights and tourism.
Ho began his career as a law enforcement officer and was a bodyguard of former minister of transportation and communications Clement Chang (張建邦) when Chang served as the Taipei City Council speaker. He then followed in Chang’s footsteps by transferring to the MOTC and worked his way up within the ministry. He was the deputy minister before he left the MOTC in 2009.
Ho’s work ethic and performance at the MOTC garnered mixed reviews from ministry officials, with some of them saying he was an extremely strict and sometimes demanding supervisor.
However, Ho was also credited for his public relations skills, particularly with regard to making sure that the MOTC was in good terms with lawmakers.
During his time as deputy minister, Ho was charged with overseeing the problematic high-speed rail system and to make sure that it could be launched on time. He is credited with salvaging Asia-Pacific Telecom after restructuring the firm that was on the brink of bankruptcy. He also handled labor disputes at the TRA and Chunghwa Post.
Despite these accomplishments, Ho’s career has also been dogged by controversy. He was impeached by the Control Yuan for not confiscating the guarantee fund of approximately NT$1 billion (US$31.07 million at today’s exchange rate) paid by the previous contractor of the Taoyuan Airport Mass Rapid Transit System for failing to fulfill the terms of the contract. Instead, Ho accepted the result of the arbitration and returned the fund to the contractor.
During his term as the National Freeway Bureau director-general, Ho was accused of hiring a helper to take care of his daughter who was reportedly paid by a contractor who operated businesses in one of the national freeway rest areas, which was in violation of a contract with the bureau.
While Ho admitted that he had accepted a special favor from the contractor, the case was dismissed because no evidence was found that Ho intended to protect the contractor.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS