A number of top Taipei City Government officials have failed to avoid conflicts of interest by holding multiple positions and earning thousands of dollars a year from these part-time jobs, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors said yesterday.
DPP Taipei City councilors Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) and Lee Chien-chang (李建昌) released a list of city officials they said held the most part-time jobs and called on the Department of Government Ethics to look into the issue.
Department of Education Commissioner Ting Ya-wen (丁亞雯) topped the list with 58 positions, followed by Taipei Deputy Mayor Chen Hsiung-wen (陳雄文) with 56.
In terms of fees, former commissioner of Taipei City’s Law and Regulation Commission Yeh Ching-yuan (葉慶元) received the most for attendance — NT$270,000 — last year, while Public Works Department Commissioner Shannon Lee (李咸亨) received NT$260,000, Hsu told a press conference at the Taipei City Council.
According to Lee Chien-chang, the officials mostly hold part-time positions as board members or advisers to organizations or companies affiliated with the city government, such as Taipei Rapid Transit Corp, Taipei EasyCard Corp and Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Co. The fees for such positions range from NT$8,000 to NT$10,000 per month.
“Top city officials should focus their efforts on city affairs. It is no wonder the city administration has done such a poor job developing the city because city officials are busy moonlighting,” he said.
The councilors asked the ethics department to look at these part-time positions, adding that officials should hold no more than two outside posts at the same time.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) defended the part-time work, saying it was “necessary” for some officials to serve as advisers or board members for city-affiliated organizations or companies in which the city government is a major shareholder.
He promised that the city government would ensure that there would be no conflict of interest involved for any official holding part-time positions.
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