Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) confirmed yesterday that he had received information that Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵) chairwoman Nita Ing (殷琪) intended to resign.
Wu was responding to media reports that the government had reached a consensus with shareholders of the company that Ing would step down and the company’s board would be reorganized in an attempt to resolve its financial difficulties.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported that the government planned for THSRC chief executive Ou Chin-der (歐晉德) to take over as chairman and quoted Ou as saying that he knew nothing about the reshuffle.
If the government does name a representative to take over the nation’s struggling high-speed rail company, less than three years after it went into service, it would signal the failure of Taiwan’s biggest build-operate-transfer project, under which the firm agreed to build the rail line and run it for 35 years before transferring ownership to the government.
The company has a paid-up capital of NT$105.3 billion (US$3.2 billion), but was reportedly NT$11 billion in the red last year, while its accumulated debts amount to NT$70.2 billion.
Wu yesterday said he would respect the decision of THSRC’s board during its provisional board meeting tomorrow.
Wu said he did not know why Ing wished to resign, adding that the government expected the company to operate as usual no matter who became chairperson of the THSRC.
“Two things are of the utmost importance to the government. First, that the high-speed rail link’s operations should not be suspended, because that would seriously impact the nation,” Wu told reporters during a trip to Nantou County yesterday morning. “Second, the government should shoulder its responsibilities and supervise the company.”
The company, which is seeking NT$80 billion (US$2.5 billion) from creditor banks to keep it afloat, declined to comment on the report.
“We thank the five original shareholders of THSRC for overcoming all the difficulties and helping complete the construction of the high-speed rail link,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said at a separate setting yesterday. “We highly value their contribution to the nation’s transportation system.”
The five original shareholders were Continental Engineering Corp (大陸工程), Teco Group (東元電機), Evergreen International Corp (長榮國際), Pacific Electric Wire and Cable Co (太平洋電線電纜) and Fubon Bank (富邦銀行).
When asked for comment, KMT Legislator Chen Ken-te (陳根德) of the legislature’s Transportation Committee said it was the right time for the government to take over THSRC, adding that Ou would make a perfect candidate for chairman of the company.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said it was acceptable as long as the government’s takeover of THSRC was in the public interest.
“The [takeover] would be questionable, however, if the intervention was in the Ma administration’s interest,” she said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHELLEY SHAN, STAFF WRITER AND AFP
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS