Another state-run business has been "greened" with the appointment of former DPP lawmaker Cheng Pao-ching (
The appointment ceremony was held at the shareholder and board meeting yesterday of TSIC, also known as Taisalt.
Prepared for trouble
TSIC security personnel were put on high alert before the meeting, following the sometimes vitriolic exchanges that took place on a similar occasion Wednesday at the Taiwan Sugar Corp (
At the Taiwan Sugar shareholder's meeting, participants lashed out at the DPP government's decision to replace that state-owned company's KMT chairman with DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁).
The two appointments are widely seen as part of the ruling party's plan to pave the way for victory in the year-end mayoral and city councilor elections in Taipei and Kaohsiung, as well as the presidential election in 2004.
Yesterday's meeting at Taisalt appeared to be going quite smoothly, until Cheng was embarrassed by a slip of the tongue.
During his speech, instead of saying "Taisalt," he repeated "Taisugar" several times, reminding the attendees of the unpleasantries at Taisugar the previous day.
In response to questions about his lack of professional experience, Cheng promised that he would spend one year proving his capability and that he would ensure that the TSIC's profits would more than double, according to the report.
He also said that he would not campaign for DPP candidates during office hours; nor would he make use of the TSIC's substantial resources in the run-up to elections.
"I will only campaign after work," Cheng asserted.
The outgoing chairman, Yu Kuang-hwa (
Under his leadership, the TSIC was dubbed "the role model of state-owned enterprises."
Former chairman surprised
This dramatic change in fortune surprised not only Yu, who was suddenly informed of the decision on Monday night, but also officials at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Commission of National Corporations (
The "greening" of the nation's state-owned enterprises has triggered a backlash from opposition lawmakers.
The KMT's Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) yesterday cited the China Steel Corp (中鋼) as an example, criticizing the political considerations that appear to have taken precedence in the recent appointments.
The profits of China Steel Corp dropped from NT$23 billion under former chairman Wang Chung-yu (
GREAT POWER COMPETITION: Beijing views its military cooperation with Russia as a means to push back against the joint power of the US and its allies, an expert said A recent Sino-Russian joint air patrol conducted over the waters off Alaska was designed to counter the US military in the Pacific and demonstrated improved interoperability between Beijing’s and Moscow’s forces, a national security expert said. National Defense University associate professor Chen Yu-chen (陳育正) made the comment in an article published on Wednesday on the Web site of the Journal of the Chinese Communist Studies Institute. China and Russia sent four strategic bombers to patrol the waters of the northern Pacific and Bering Strait near Alaska in late June, one month after the two nations sent a combined flotilla of four warships
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
EVERYONE’S ISSUE: Kim said that during a visit to Taiwan, she asked what would happen if China attacked, and was told that the global economy would shut down Taiwan is critical to the global economy, and its defense is a “here and now” issue, US Representative Young Kim said during a roundtable talk on Taiwan-US relations on Friday. Kim, who serves on the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, held a roundtable talk titled “Global Ties, Local Impact: Why Taiwan Matters for California,” at Santiago Canyon College in Orange County, California. “Despite its small size and long distance from us, Taiwan’s cultural and economic importance is felt across our communities,” Kim said during her opening remarks. Stanford University researcher and lecturer Lanhee Chen (陳仁宜), lawyer Lin Ching-chi
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
RSS