The Control Yuan on Thursday impeached former Miaoli County commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) on charges of severe negligence of duty after Liu’s borrowing allegedly led to the county’s financial crisis and a debt of NT$67.6 billion (US$2.15 billion).
Liu issued a statement through his aides saying that he regrets being impeached, but rests assured that he is innocent, adding that he hopes the Control Yuan can make a more detailed investigation.
Control Yuan Committee members Liu Te-hsun (劉德勳) and Kao Feng-hsien (高鳳仙) cited a National Audit Office Miaoli branch report issued in August for fiscal 2015, which said that the county government’s public deficit reached NT$39.2 billion.
Photo: Cheng Hung-ta, Taipei Times
The county’s underfunded liabilities included NT$16.7 billion in loans from the central government’s special Reserved Centrally Funded Tax Revenues (特別統籌分配款), special accounts and foundation funds, as well as NT$11.6 billion in unpaid annual expenses as of fiscal 2013, the report said.
The county’s public short-term debt ratio of 31.55 percent had exceeded the legal debt ceiling by 2006, a year after Liu Cheng-hung became commissioner, Liu Te-hsun said, adding that under such circumstances, Liu Cheng-hung should have been mindful of the county’s expenses.
Liu Te-hsun said that the county spent NT$374 million on fireworks alone for the 2012 National Day celebrations.
The county’s annual expenses increased sharply in 2008 and its debt grew by an average of NT$510 million each year — totaling NT$36.17 billion between 2008 and 2014 — which is the main cause of the county’s financial crisis, Liu Te-hsun said.
The county government violated the Guidelines for the Central Government’s Subsidies for Municipal and County Governments (中央對直轄市及縣市政府補助辦法) by allegedly reporting NT$51 billion in subsidy incomes — of which it had only received NT$27 billion — over eight years in an attempt to create the illusion that it maintained a balanced account, Liu Te-hsun said.
The report said that the county government and its subsidiary organizations were ordered by Liu Cheng-hung to overstate their budgets, adding that despite coming up with three plans to repay its debts after 2011, the county government not only failed to act on them, but also shuffled around funds from special accounts and foundation funds that it oversaw.
Liu Cheng-hung’s decisions during his term in office showed a blatant disregard for his duty as county commissioner, the report said, suggesting that the case be sent to the Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission for a ruling.
When asked whether the impeachment would be effective, as Liu Cheng-hung has been retired for two years, Kao said that according to the amended Public Functionary Discipline Act (公務員懲戒法), the commission may rule that Liu Cheng-hung would be banned from public service and cut or entirely suspend his pension, or issue fines.
“We hope the commission would take appropriate punitive measures, as it would serve as a warning for the heads of local governments when they are making budget proposals,” Kao said.
Meanwhile, Liu Cheng-hung said in the statement that the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was unable to distribute resources equally.
He was aware of his duty to the public and sought to increase the county’s revenue through construction projects, Liu Cheng-hung said, adding that during his time in office the county government was so short on cash that it was unable to pay its employees.
The county government said that it would take about two decades for the county to return to legally defined debt parameters by paying back NT$300 million to NT$500 million of debt each year.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS