Former Taipei City Department of Sports commissioner Yang Jong-her (楊忠和) yesterday said that his resignation did not result from a disagreement with Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
“Regardless of whenever I leave, I will always be a Ko team ‘eternal volunteer,’” Yang said.
Yang is the first commissioner within Ko’s administration to resign, with substantial media speculation over whether the move is connected with several ongoing controversies related to preparations for the 2017 Universiade, a college-level athletics competition for which the department is responsible.
Photo: CNA
“If it were that there were disagreements between myself and Mayor Ko, I would have slipped away yesterday,” Yang said.
He said that as a former Ministry of Education Sports Administration director-general, he was initially reluctant to accept a local government position, but took on the role because of the importance of completing a number of “interim tasks” for the Universiade.
He resigned because he had completed the “interim tasks” — such as determining the venues to be used for Universiade events — sooner than expected, he said.
Yang added that when he was appointed, he had not told Ko of his intention to stay only for a short period, because politically appointed officials do not have set terms of office.
Yang also dismissed speculation that his resignation was connected to his former membership on the municipal committee that approved Farglory Land Development Co’s bid to construct the Taipei Dome.
The municipal administration is involved in an intense dispute with the firm over contract terms negotiated under the previous administration.
Yang said he was awarded committee membership automatically due to his position as president of Taipei Physical Education College, adding that leaving the municipal government would not protect him from legal action if he were implicated in wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Ko said that he has “run into a wall” in his search for a third deputy mayor to handle major international events that the capital is set to host during his term, including the Universiade.
While he originally aimed to appoint a woman with a corporate executive background, low pay and the media glare surrounding the municipal administration served to deter potential candidates, he said, adding that he is considering broadening his search to include government officials.
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