The Cabinet last night approved the resignation of Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Shih Jun-ji (
More than 40 Rebar Group executives have been questioned by prosecutors in the wake of the scandal, and two members of group founder Wang You-theng's (王又曾) family have been detained. Wang fled to China late last month.
At a press conference last night, Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen (
Tsai said that Premier Su Tseng-chang (
As to who would take up the vacancy left by Shih's departure, Tsai said Su would discuss the issue with the president, who is scheduled to return to Taipei this morning following his five-day trip to Nicaragua, where he attended the inauguration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on Wednesday.
"I resigned in order to take responsibility for the recent social disturbance caused by the overnight outbreak of long-standing malpractice in the financial sector," Shih said in a text message last night.
Before any official handover, he would continue to restore financial order and further investigate allegations of embezzlement at the Rebar Group with all his effort, he said.
The commission's vice chairwoman, Susan Chang (張秀蓮), said she was surprised by Shih's resignation.
"He did not let us know beforehand. I was so surprised when I saw the news broadcast," Chang said.
Chang will now serve as acting chairwoman while Gary Tseng (
In related news, Democratic Progressive Party legislators were yesterday reportedly divided on whether Su should step down to shoulder the blame for the scandal.
A story in the Chinese-language United Evening News yesterday said that rumors were circulating in pan-green circles that the president was considering sacking the premier upon his return from Nicaragua.
When asked for comment about the reports, deputy Cabinet spokesman William Yih (
"The focus should not be shifted on to the issue of whether the premier should step down," he added.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
Also see stories:
Legislature focuses on bank reforms
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect
Some foreign companies are considering moving Taiwanese employees out of China after Beijing said it could impose the death penalty on “die-hard” Taiwanese independence advocates, four people familiar with the matter said. The new guidelines have caused some Taiwanese expatriates and foreign multinationals operating in China to scramble to assess their legal risks and exposure, said the people, who include a lawyer and two executives with direct knowledge of the discussions. “Several companies have come to us to assess the risks to their personnel,” said the lawyer, James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based partner at the Perkins Coie law firm. He declined to identify