One day after he withdrew from the Yunlin County commissioner primary, former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Hsu Shu-po (許舒博) reportedly became a frontrunner for the next chairperson of Taipei Financial Center Corp (台北金融大樓公司), operator of Taipei 101.
Vice Premier Paul Chiu (邱正雄) confirmed a report in yesterday’s Chinese-language United Daily News, saying that the Executive Yuan had “finalized” Hsu’s nomination.
Chiu said that the Ministry of Finance, which is in charge of the government’s shares of the skyscraper complex in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義), had already made the suggestion to the executive board of the company.
The Ministry of Finance controls 44 percent of the shares in the Taipei Financial Center.
A few hours later, however, Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said that Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) had not approved Hsu’s nomination.
“The Ministry of Finance did make the suggestion, but the premier hasn’t approved the appointment. The proposal is still sitting in the Executive Yuan,” Su said.
Hsu’s nomination sparked criticism from legislators after it was widely reported by cable TV stations and the Central News Agency.
Some legislators said the government offered the chairmanship to Hsu as a reward for his support of independent Legislator Chang Li-shan’s (張麗善) bid to run in the Yunlin Country commissionership election at the end of the year.
Chang Li-shan’s brother Chang Jung-wei (張榮味), a major figure in Yunlin County’s political scene, is believed to be an influential figure in the election.
Earlier in the day, Hsu said the premier had asked Executive Yuan Secretary-General Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) to set up an appointment with him, as Liu wished to talk to Hsu after he withdrew from the primary.
After Chiu’s announcement, Hsu said he would spare no effort to become Taipei Financial Center chairman.
Approached for comment, KMT Legislator Shyu Jong-shyoung (徐中雄) said he was “surprised and shocked” to learn of Hsu’s nomination.
Shyu said he had to remind Hsu that it might not be a positive development if he were appointed Taipei Financial Center chairman.
Shyu did not elaborate.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
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