A group of lawyers and civic groups yesterday said that if the “cronyism in the finance sector and judiciary” that began under the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) persists, young people — who are facing the concentration of capital, impoverishment and a low birth rate — risk becoming a “crumbled generation.”
Lawyer Fan Jen-yu (樊仁裕) said that the finance sector has hired people from the former administration to be their “door gods.”
For example, Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) has been the vice chairman of CTBC Financial Holding (中信金控) since resigning as Executive Yuan secretary-general during former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) first term in 2009, former Mega Financial Holding Co chairman Mckinney Tsai (蔡友才), who resigned in April, became one of Cathay Financial Holding Co’s board of directors (until he resigned on Aug. 23), Catherine Lee (李紀珠), the chairperson of state-run Taiwan Financial Holdings until the end of last month, was formerly the president of Shin Kong Financial Holding Co, Fan said.
He also called on Tsai’s administration to hold former Mega Financial Holding Co chairman Shiu Kuang-si (徐光曦) — who resigned on Thursday — accountable for breaches of US money laundering rules rather than “keeping him at large because he is central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan’s (彭淮南) sister-in-law’s husband.”
The composition of the Committee of Illegal Party Asset Settlement, Tsai’s grand justice picks and the members of the Executive Yuan’s monitoring taskforce overlooking the Mega Bank incident are all in one way or another related to a particular law firm and the Judicial Reform Foundation, Fan said.
Northern Taiwan Society Chairman Chang Yeh-sen (張葉森) said that there have been a string of financial malpractice cases but the government has not demonstrated “resolve” in dealing with them.
National Taiwan University professor of law Chen Chih-lung (陳志龍) said economic crimes and serious corruption are rarely prosecuted, making Taiwan a “haven for economic crimes.”
Wang Yi-kai (王奕凱), who was an active participant in the Sunflower movement protests, said the economy has fallen into the hands of “crony capitalists... to the extent that, according to The Economist, Taiwan is even worse than China in this respect.”
“Taiwan is also relying far too much on an ‘insubstantial economy’ that puts too much emphasis on land speculation and financial exchange and is a breeding ground for political nepotism,” he said, calling on the government to support startups by providing information on the needs of the global economy and promoting value-added production.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park this weekend, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a theme food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances. Pokemon Go Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as photo attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs. Pokemon trainers could also experience the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area. Three PokeStops are to be set up in the park. Trainers are invited to take
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