Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) yesterday accused Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Co general manager Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of allowing nepotism at a semi-govermental firm.
The firm is scheduled to host a board of standing directors meeting on Wednesday next week to elect its new president, who has the right to nominate the firm’s general manager, who directly oversees the company’s operations including the auctioning, supply and distribution of produce.
Liang said company acting president Chen Yi-tsung’s (陳益宗) son, daughter-in-law and two nephews hold positions at the firm in charge of overseeing produce auctions and regulating prices.
Company director Tu Hsiu-ying’s (涂秀英) son-in-law is head of the firm’s international marketing division, he added.
These appointments are in breach of the Agricultural Wholesale Market Management Regulation (農產品批發市場管理辦法), which stipulates that a produce marketing company must not hire relatives of directors or high-ranking market officials who are within a third degree of kinship, Liang said.
Chen is the chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Fruit Marketing Co, which owns a 9.5 percent stake in Han’s company, while Tu is the manager of Chen’s firm. Han’s hiring of their relatives could leave fruit prices and distribution channels open to manipulation, Liang said.
Han was “reckless” in approving the appointments, which were aimed at consolidating his control over the firm, Liang said, demanding that either Chen and Tu be relieved of their duties, or their relatives be removed.
Taipei Market Administration Office Deputy Director Chen Ting-hui (陳庭輝) said his agency has asked the company to explain the appointments, but has not received a reply.
The appointments could constitute a conflict of interest, Chen Ting-hui said, adding that his office would ascertain whether there are any potentially illegal appointments at the company and table a motion to deal with any personnel issues prior to the firm’s presidential election next week.
Only the appointment of managers or higher-ranking officials need to be approved by the board of directors, he said.
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