All employees for the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung will be hired in an open and transparent manner, the head of the organizing committee promised yesterday after Kaohsiung City councilors across party lines accused her of persistently ignoring employment protocols.
This is not the first time that Olympic track and field bronze medalist Chi Cheng (紀政), the chief executive officer of the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee, has come under fire for seemingly going against the government's recruitment procedures.
Despite admitting that she had violated procedure in the recent hiring of three professionals, Chi said that they were all experts in their respective fields.
The criticism came during a meeting yesterday morning when Chi was giving a report on the progress of preparations for the games.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) City Councilor Lin Kuo-cheng (
Lin said Chi's unwillingness to follow the rules had put an extra burden on the city's auditing department and something had to be done to ensure an open and fair recruitment process.
Chen Hsin-yu (
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) in June ordered that all recruitment had to be transparent, but Chi still approved the three names without ever making their positions available to the public, Chen said.
It is estimated that more than 3,200 athletes from 90 countries will participate in the games. More than 100,000 tourists are expected to visit, in addition to 300 foreign VIPs and 300 media workers from around the world.
The games will cost NT$1.76 billion (US$54 million), the committee has said.
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
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STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of
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