An executive meeting of the General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC) set to review the membership of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday was called off amid speculation that the group was to elect a new president to prevent Tsai from assuming leadership of it.
The meeting to review the Tsai’s application and those of 624 other potential members was canceled due to lack of a quorum.
Association president Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), whose term expired yesterday, rejected accusations that the group was trying to deny membership to Tsai and the others, saying the review of membership applications was on the meeting’s agenda.
Photo: Wang Wen-lin, Taipei Times
Liu criticized 12 executive members who issued a joint statement on Sunday urging the association to convene the needed meetings for a leadership transition, because they were all absent yesterday.
The 12 members included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), the former legislative speaker; former United Microelectronics Corp chairman Robert Tsao (曹興誠); Fubon Financial Holdings chairman Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠); Shin Kong Financial Holding chairman Eugene Wu (吳東進) and Taiwan Cement Corp chairman Leslie Koo (辜成允).
Their statement said the association should complete the induction of new members in due course to facilitate a leadership transition without provoking unnecessary conflicts, amid rumors that the association’s 35-person executive committee wanted to elect a new president to prevent Tsai Ing-wen from succeeding Liu.
“I think it is apparent to everyone who caused the meeting to be aborted. I am confused and disappointed [by their action],” Liu said.
The nation’s president has traditionally led the GACC, which was established to help promote cultural affairs and bridge the gap between the president and cultural circles.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) broke with tradition by appointing Liu to head the association after the former premier left office in 2009.
There has been criticism, especially among the pan-green camp, over the association’s failing to members as they left, with some legislators calling it an attempt by the former KMT administration to privatize the GACC’s assets and to use it as a platform for cross-strait ties for its own purposes.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) told a news conference that the association, which was founded in 1967 with 70 percent of its founding capital raised from state-owned businesses, should be a public asset managed by the state, but Liu has been working the association to deny membership to Tsai Ing-wen and new members.
The delay in a leadership transition is an attempt to make the association a private body and the association assets, which are worth NT$1.9 billion (US$59.6 million), private property, Wu said.
However, Liu yesterday reiterated that the association is a private organization and its is only subject to the Civil Associations Act (人民團體法) and related regulations, while its assets are private property.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
OIL RIGS: China is using ‘strategic ambiguity within a focused warfare strategy’ to normalize encroachments and force acceptance of new norms, a lawmaker said The government must boost capacity for ships to patrol islands under its control in the South China Sea and join with friendly nations to file a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice in response to China’s oil rig activity near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), a lawmaker and security experts said on Thursday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) said that reports of Chinese oil rigs near Pratas Island show that Beijing has expanded construction efforts in the South China Sea. Previous activity has resulted in disputes with Vietnam and the Philippines, and now Beijing has taken up “gray zone”
RSS