The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) yesterday ended weeks of speculation over government interference in a major reshuffle by announcing that it was retaining most of its governing board.
The board decided at a meeting yesterday that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) would stay on as the foundation's chairman, Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) would remain its vice chairman and Lin Wen-cheng (林文程) would keep his post as executive director.
Two of the three deputy executive directors — Maysing Yang (楊黃美幸) and Tsai Chang-yen (蔡昌言) — will also continue in their posts, while the third, Tung Li-wen (董立文), had tendered his resignation, Wang said.
Huang Kwei-bo (黃奎博), the director-general of the foreign ministry's Research and Planning Committee, will take over Tung's post.
In a telephone interview with the Taipei Times yesterday, Tung said that “higher-level [authorities] had expressed concern” over the personnel reshuffle. He declined to reveal names.
Tung said a personnel rearrangement would be made in a piecemeal manner and that more changes would follow.
Describing the result of yesterday’s board of directors meeting as “satisfactory,” Wang dismissed media reports that high-ranking officials had attempted to interfere in the personnel reshuffle.
“[We] did not suffer any pressure [from the government,]” Wang told reporters.
“We were completely impartial, fair and transcended party lines [in discussing the reshuffle],” he said, adding that the TFD would continue to serve as a fair, neutral and independent think tank that promotes democracy.
He also dismissed speculation that a government plan to make major changes was dropped because of pressure from Washington, saying that Lin chose to remain in his post because the TFD is highly respected at home and abroad.
US Congressman Robert Andrews recently wrote a letter to US President Barack Obama expressing concern over the growing controversy over the TFD's future.
It has been widely reported that the Ma administration intended to make major changes to the foundation's governing board and to stop it from offering financial support to pro-democracy movements in China, Tibet and Cuba.
The letter asked Obama to “urge” President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his administration to “let the TFD do its useful work the way it had done over the past six years.”
Carl Gershman, president of the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy, had also written to Ma, calling on him not to interfere with the structure and policies of the foundation.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) yesterday declined to comment, saying only that the foundation’s personnel reshuffle was made in accordance with its charter.
A presidential aide, who asked to remain anonymous, said National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) had intervened in the personnel reshuffle.
The negotiation was made under three principles, the official said. First, Su asked that the matter be dealt with in accordance with the foundation charter. Second, he said he would respect Wang's arrangement. And finally, he said the personnel reshuffle “must be dictated by the executive branch” because it was the established practice when the Democratic Progressive Party was in power.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘NOT SUBORDINATE’: Only Taiwanese can decide the nation’s future, and people preserving their democratic way of life is not a provocation, President William Lai said Taiwan does not want China’s “one country, two systems,” and must uphold its freedom and democracy as well as resolve to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, rejecting Beijing’s latest bid to bring the country under Chinese control. The president made the remarks while attending a commissioning ceremony for Taiwan’s first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口). The tanks are made by General Dynamics, a major US defense contractor. China this week said it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media
RSS