The Control Yuan on Tuesday impeached Lieutenant General Hu Chen-pu (胡鎮埔), a former Veterans Affairs Commission minister, for misappropriating funds earmarked for employee bonuses when he was director-general of the Ministry of National Defense’s Political Warfare Bureau.
Hu was the highest-ranking military officer to be impeached by the government watchdog in recent years.
The motion, initiated by Control Yuan members Liu Hsing-shan (劉興善) and Chou Yang-shan (周陽山), was passed by a vote of 9-to-3 in a confidential review meeting.
Hu was accused of implementing rules that contravened the Accounting Act (會計法) for a program to award bonuses to subordinates from a fund worth about NT$11 million (US$361,000) from Feb. 1, 2005, to Feb. 16, 2006.
The Control Yuan investigation showed that Hu also apparently collected NT$40,000 per month in the name of award recipients, for a total of NT$320,000.
During questioning, Hu told Control Yuan members that the money had been used to provide meals for the bureau and not for his personal use, but the Control Yuan ruled the practice constituted “malfeasance and irregularity.”
An investigation by the National Audit Office conducted prior to that by the Control Yuan found that Hu used the fund as a special allowance to buy off subordinates. It also said that most documents pertaining to how the money was used had been destroyed.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
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