The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) board’s decision to make its chairman a paid position showed the appointment of Lin Join-sane (林中森) was a “political reward,” DPP lawmakers said yesterday.
A SEF board meeting yesterday confirmed the appointment of Lin and amended its organizational regulations, changing the position without remuneration to a paid position, DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who serves as a board member of the foundation, told a press conference.
Former SEF chairpeople, including outgoing Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), worked for the foundation, which functioned as a negotiation institution for cross-strait affairs, without pay.
Photo: CNA
Hsiao said the amendment was likely a tailor-made decision for Lin, who made NT$200,000 (US$6,800) per month in his previous job as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) secretary-general.
Since SEF Vice Chairman Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) is paid NT$235,000 a month, Lin could earn about NT$300,000 per month, DPP Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) said.
DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) quoted a previous comment by Chiang, who described his job as “simply signing your name on the dotted line and reading prepared speeches,” as saying that the honorary position “is not worthy of NT$300,000 a month.”
Chen added the DPP caucus would overrule the amendment in the legislature.
Chiang cited the fact that he did not make a penny from the position as the reason for his refusal to report to the legislature and be questioned by lawmakers.
DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said Lin could be paid if he can accomplish five tasks: ensure Beijing notifies Taiwan of any detention of a Taiwanese national within 24 hours, resolving all trade disputes, acquiring compensation for the 2008 Chinese milk scandal, bringing all fugitives in China back to Taiwan and having China remove all missiles targeted at Taiwan.
Separately yesterday at the KMT secretary-general handover ceremony, Lin acknowledged his lack of knowledge and experience on cross-strait affairs before taking over the post and pledged to devote himself to maintaining peace across the Strait.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is KMT chairman, yesterday defended the appointment of Lin, saying expected Lin to strengthen cross-strait exchanges in the future.
“Lin is unfamiliar with handling cross-strait affairs, but as a former Executive Yuan secretary-general and KMT secretary-general, he is very familiar with administrative affairs and has excellent communication skills. I believe he will further promote cross-strait exchanges,” he said.
Chiang, who tendered his resignation last week prior to the announcement of the personnel reshuffle, formally stepped down yesterday.
In a farewell luncheon, he thanked Ma for giving him the opportunity to “make history” by presiding over the eight rounds of cross-strait negotiations and completing the signing of 18 cross-strait agreements, including the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA).
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
RSS