Auditor-general Su Chen-ping (蘇振平) cruised into his third term yesterday as the legislature gave the green light to his reappointment, despite protests from some opposition lawmakers.
The 74-year-old Su, who was first named to head the National Auditing Office in 1989, said that he was grateful for the vote of confidence and pledged to step up his performance over the next six years.
The opposition-controlled legislature voted 142-32 in favor of retaining Su in the post of the country's highest auditor.
His primary task, as before, is to ensure that the central government properly executes its spending plan.
The auditor-general is nominated by the president with consent from the legislature.
To guarantee a smooth confirmation, the ruling DPP legislative caucus asked all its members to attend the midday vote. Su's nomination also had the backing of the majority KMT, of which the auditor-general remains a member though he has shunned partisan activities over the years to avoid charges of partiality.
"I'm grateful that a great majority of the lawmakers gave their approval for my appointment," Su said through an aide. "I will work harder to measure up to these responsibilities."
The National Audit Office, the auditing wing of the Control Yuan, monitors public affairs, properties, institutions, as well as enterprises in which the state owns at least a 50-percent share. Auditing duties and functions include supervision over the execution of all government organization budgets, approval of receipts and disbursements, and the investigation of cases concerning irregularities and abuses of power.
Saying that Su had done a "mediocre" job in the last 12 years, all eight lawmakers from the New Party and two dozen members from the People First Party and the KMT cast "no" votes against his reappointment.
"Though moderate and flexible, Su lacks resolution in cracking down on public construction projects suspected of bid-rigging and other dishonest practices," New Party legislative leader Levi Ying (營志宏) said. "We seldom see officials being punished, yet reports of power abuse involving public expenditure are commonplace."
The tiny opposition party also questioned Su's integrity, noting that he has been using a state-owned residence on Anho Road for the past two years, in addition to the his state-owned residence in Hsinyi.
Wang Chin-fu (王欽福), Su's top aide, said that the auditor-general was forced to move to the latter apartment two years ago after a massive temblor measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale hit Taiwan and damaged the former apartment.
Dismissing charges of ineffectiveness, Wang added that it was just not Su's style to boast to the media about his achievements.
"The press coverage would cause more harm to parties involved," Wang said. "As a compassionate man, Su would have tried his best to avoid that."
Still, Hsieh Chang-chieh (謝章捷), leader of the PFP legislative cause, challenged the wisdom of repeatedly appointing the same person to the same post. "The lack of change may block the introduction of new blood and create opportunities for interest trade-offs," Hsieh said. "I find it difficult to swallow that the Presidential Office could not find candidates better than Su."
Wang said that Su's counterparts in many other countries enjoy a longer tenure.
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