Representatives of the public yesterday clashed over President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) follow-up nominations of Control Yuan members, with members of the pan-blue camp calling the nominations biased.
The Legislative Yuan held a hearing to solicit views from the public on nominations to fill 11 seats left vacant after 29 members retired in 2014 during former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) term.
Yeh Ching-yuan (葉慶元), a lawyer for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), targeted nominee Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟), who served as Presidential Office secretary-general under then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Chen Shih-meng allegedly said that, if approved, he would purge certain law enforcers whom he deemed to be “leftovers from the party-state era,” which shows that he has a distinct political stance, Yeh said.
He urged the DPP to rescind Chen Shih-meng’s nomination and called on him to decline the position.
Yeh also disputed Tsai’s nominations of former Taipei Department of Legal Affairs commissioner Yang Fang-ling (楊芳玲) and former DPP legislators Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) and Walis Perin.
Yang served less than three years as a commissioner under Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and before that was a professor, suggesting that she lacks experience in politics and the credibility to serve as a Control Yuan member, Yeh said.
Regarding Tien and Walis Perin, the DPP should clarify whether the party treats the Control Yuan as a “recycle bin” for former lawmakers, he said.
During a cross-caucus negotiation last week, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) called the Control Yuan a KMT affiliate and said that the purpose of the nominations was to “even out” the negative influence exerted by incumbent members nominated by Ma, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology law professor Wu Wei-chih (吳威志) said.
Ker’s remarks showed that the 11 nominees are tasked with a “political mission,” Wu said, adding that as the DPP believes the Control Yuan to be a KMT affiliate, it should ask the Executive Yuan’s Ill-Gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee to investigate the Control Yuan rather than nominate new members.
However, until the constitutional system is amended, having too many vacancies at the Control Yuan could have negative consequences, National Chung Cheng University College of Law dean Liu Chien-hung (劉建宏) said.
Yang, lawyer Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠) and former judge Tsai Chung-yi’s (蔡崇義) nominations would help resolve long-standing national issues, as they all have legal backgrounds, he said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or