Reacting to charges that the government's system for appointing heads of state-run corporations is partly to blame for last Saturday's China Airlines crash, Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday announced that the presidents of state-run-enterprises will be appointed by public recruiting beginning next month.
The government currently holds more than 70 percent of China Airlines shares.
As well as vowing to resurrect a plan to privatize the state-run airline and come up with a reform plan within a week or two, Yu expressed his desire yesterday to remove the current appointment system for presidents of state-run corporations. The new measure is expected to affect about 90 such positions.
"Incidents such as the air crash and the recent case of mismanagement of electricity [at Taiwan Power Co] are related to the [poor] operating achievements of state-run enterprises," Yu said.
"The old system for appointments gives the public the impression that those positions are rewards for political service. But we will appoint candidates for these positions in the future by public tender. The presidents, however, will be required to take full responsibility when any mishaps occur," Yu said in an interview with Formosa TV.
Yu's demand that the Cabinet's Central Personnel Administration create a new system has been completed as a draft and was submitted to the Executive Yuan yesterday.
According to the administration, the measure is expected to take effect next week, after Yu gives his official approval.
Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋), director-general of the Central Personnel Administration, explained that the administration would create a committee, which would consist of Cabinet members and academics, to select two to three appropriate candidates for the posts. Yu would be entitled to make the final decision on the appointments.
"The new measure will remove the disadvantages of the old political reward system. We believe that the new system, on the other hand, will accelerate the operating achievements of state-run-enterprises," Lee said.
The Commission of National Corporations under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which manages about 30 state-run enterprises, said that it is still evaluating the new measure.
Currently, former DPP secretary-general Wu Nai-jen (
Wu, who is considered to be well suited to his position, declined to comment on the measure yesterday.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated