Former Taitung County commissioner Justin Huang (黃健庭) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday declined a nomination from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to serve as Control Yuan vice president.
The announcement came one day after news of the planned appointment sparked criticism across the political spectrum.
Huang said in a video on Facebook that he cared about his reputation “far more than any position” and urged people who were “using [him] as a shield to shift the focus” to stop what they were doing.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
The KMT said in a statement that it welcomed Huang’s announcement.
The party said that comments by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members over the past two days showed that Tsai only wanted to use Huang to help turn the focus away from former Presidential Office secretary-general Chen Chu (陳菊), instead of “borrowing” talent from the KMT.
Chen, who is expected to be nominated as Control Yuan president, has been involved in three impeachments and more than 50 cases of corrective measures by the Control Yuan, the KMT said.
If Tsai, who doubles as DPP chairperson, believes Huang is suitable for the position, she should defend the nomination, instead of allowing members of her party to attack Huang, the KMT said.
If the DPP needs to “borrow” KMT members to serve in the government, it should discuss the matter with the party, instead of directly approaching its members, it said.
As Huang has withdrawn from the nomination, the KMT would not take disciplinary action against him, the party added.
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said Tsai respected Huang’s decision, adding that the KMT’s talk of a “party-to-party” approach to determine a nominee was not in line with the Constitution.
Tsai’s planned nomination of Huang also drew criticism from the DPP.
The Presidential Office did not communicate with DPP members about Huang’s planned nomination, said a party member, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
DPP Legislator Mark Ho (何志偉) said that the nominee for Control Yuan vice president should be first discussed with DPP lawmakers.
A legislative provisional session that was expected to be held after the Dragon Boat Festival holiday could be affected following the Presidential Office’s cancelation on Friday of a news conference at which the nominations for Control Yuan members were to be announced, sources said.
The DPP legislative caucus had planned on calling an extraordinary session as early as June 29 to review a number of topics, including the Control Yuan nominations, the sources said.
DPP caucus secretary-general Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said that if lawmakers are informed about the nominations before the holiday, an extraordinary session could be held following the holiday.
A session could still be held even if the nominations are announced after the holiday, but they would not be included in the agenda, he said, adding that lawmakers would handle other cases first.
A third option is to wait until the nominations are announced to hold the session, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures. The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.” The decision goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said. Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible and correct the erroneous designation to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said. The issue could damage Denmark’s image and business reputation in Taiwan,
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
RSS