New Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi’s (傅崑萁) announcement on Sunday that he had appointed his recently divorced wife as deputy commissioner was a hot topic of debate yesterday.
Fu made the bombshell announcement at the end of his inaugural speech, saying that Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚) would fully dedicate herself to serving county residents as deputy commissioner. He said they had completed divorce proceedings three days before.
Divorces can be completed at the household registration office once the couple present an agreement signed by two witnesses.
PHOTO: CNA
Vice Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) backtracked on the ministry’s claim on Sunday that the appointment might be invalid, saying that Fu’s selection of his ex-wife appears to be legal because Fu and Hsu had registered their divorce.
“The appointment is not problematic legally, but it can be subject to public scrutiny,” Chien told reporters at the legislature.
Chien had initially said Fu might have violated the Public Officials’ Conflicts of Interest Prevention Act (公職人員利益衝突迴避法).
Article 7 of the act bans public officials from taking advantage of their power to benefit themselves, their spouses or family members living under the same roof.
Chien said he would investigate whether the divorce was real, adding that the appointment would be invalid if Fu and Hsu still lived together.
When asked to detail how the ministry would conduct its investigation, Chien said: “There are various approaches.”
Legislators across party lines criticized Fu, saying he was trying to ensure he would still control the county if two court cases now in the appeal stage go against him.
Fu is the first non-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) commissioner in 30 years in Hualien after being elected on Dec 5.
He was sentenced in June to four years in prison and fined NT$20 million (US$617,000) for illegal trading activities. Last year he was sentenced to four years and six months in jail in a similar case.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said he was “surprised” to learn of the appointment, and that while it was legal, Fu should have appointed a better candidate.
KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said Fu was “ruling the county as if he were running a family business,” while Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) called the divorce a “fake.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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