Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien yesterday caused a furor in the Control Yuan by saying that it might as well shut down because it was not able to perform its purpose of serving justice, after it failed to impeach Keelung Mayor Chang Tong-rong (張通榮), who was convicted by the Keelung District Court of using his influence to persuade authorities to let a woman who had allegedly driven under the influence of alcohol and assaulted a policewoman off with no charges.
It was the second time the impeachment motion failed. Under current regulations, the Control Yuan will not be able to try to impeach Chang again on the issue.
Wang said he originally thought the second meeting would pass the motion, particularly since the media had long labeled the Control Yuan “incompetent.”
Stating that he was very sorry to hear it had not passed, Wang said: “If the Control Yuan cannot provide justice and equality, it might be better to abolish the branch.”
Wang said that Control Yuan positions were often used as bargaining chips or rewards for political favors, adding that if something was not done, the quality of the Control Yuan will continue to go downhill and become one of the “three institutions brewing chaos” to the nation and its people.
Wang was referencing comments by former department of health minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良), who once said that “the media, the Legislative Yuan and the Control Yuan are the three parties creating chaos in Taiwan.”
If Republic of China founding father Sun Yat-sen (孫中山), who designed the Control Yuan as one of the five government branches, knew of the nation’s current situation, he “would cry a river” at how his progeny misconstrued the Control Yuan system, Wang said.
“I’m not saying that the Control Yuan with its current members is persecuting people, but the fact that we are seeing very little effect while spending such great amounts of money shows that we have come to a fork in the road,” Wang said.
“If we don’t change, we will not be far from the fate former minister Yang had ascribed to the Control Yuan,” he added.
Wang said the Legislative Yuan — with its powers of constitutional amendment — should “actively broach the subject and review the Control Yuan system” and either make it smaller, or remove it completely.
Wang said he did not care if his comments created a backlash from other Control Yuan members.
“It’s not a personal issue I’m talking about, but rather the good of Taiwan,” he said.
In response, Control Yuan members said that if the Control Yuan president is making such comments, “he should perhaps resign first.”
“What has the Control Yuan President done over the past five years?” Control Yuan member Lee Ful-dien (李復甸) said when reached for comment.
Wang had done nothing to maintain the institution’s health, nor had he done anything that would further its goals, Lee said, adding that Wang had only placed more and more limitations on Control Yuan members’ powers.
“I see no reason, no right, for him to criticize us while we are working hard on cases,” Lee said.
Control Yuan member Chien Lin Whei-jun (錢林慧君) said that if there was a need to “review,” the Control Yuan should review itself.
“Wang is not doing his job correctly,” she said.
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
‘VERY SHALLOW’: The center of Saturday’s quake in Tainan’s Dongshan District hit at a depth of 7.7km, while yesterday’s in Nansai was at a depth of 8.1km, the CWA said Two magnitude 5.7 earthquakes that struck on Saturday night and yesterday morning were aftershocks triggered by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Tuesday last week, a seismologist said, adding that the epicenters of the aftershocks are moving westward. Saturday and yesterday’s earthquakes occurred as people were preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. As of 10am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded 110 aftershocks from last week’s main earthquake, including six magnitude 5 to 6 quakes and 32 magnitude 4 to 5 tremors. Seventy-one of the earthquakes were smaller than magnitude 4. Thirty-one of the aftershocks were felt nationwide, while 79
MARITIME SECURITY: Of the 52 vessels, 15 were rated a ‘threat’ for various reasons, including the amount of time they spent loitering near subsea cables, the CGA said Taiwan has identified 52 “suspicious” Chinese-owned ships flying flags of convenience that require close monitoring if detected near the nation, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday, as the nation seeks to protect its subsea telecoms cables. The stricter regime comes after a Cameroon-flagged vessel was briefly detained by the CGA earlier this month on suspicion of damaging an international cable northeast of Taiwan. The vessel is owned by a Hong Kong-registered company with a Chinese address given for its only listed director, the CGA said previously. Taiwan fears China could sever its communication links as part of an attempt