Another state-run business has been "greened" with the appointment of former DPP lawmaker Cheng Pao-ching (
The appointment ceremony was held at the shareholder and board meeting yesterday of TSIC, also known as Taisalt.
Prepared for trouble
TSIC security personnel were put on high alert before the meeting, following the sometimes vitriolic exchanges that took place on a similar occasion Wednesday at the Taiwan Sugar Corp (
At the Taiwan Sugar shareholder's meeting, participants lashed out at the DPP government's decision to replace that state-owned company's KMT chairman with DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁).
The two appointments are widely seen as part of the ruling party's plan to pave the way for victory in the year-end mayoral and city councilor elections in Taipei and Kaohsiung, as well as the presidential election in 2004.
Yesterday's meeting at Taisalt appeared to be going quite smoothly, until Cheng was embarrassed by a slip of the tongue.
During his speech, instead of saying "Taisalt," he repeated "Taisugar" several times, reminding the attendees of the unpleasantries at Taisugar the previous day.
In response to questions about his lack of professional experience, Cheng promised that he would spend one year proving his capability and that he would ensure that the TSIC's profits would more than double, according to the report.
He also said that he would not campaign for DPP candidates during office hours; nor would he make use of the TSIC's substantial resources in the run-up to elections.
"I will only campaign after work," Cheng asserted.
The outgoing chairman, Yu Kuang-hwa (
Under his leadership, the TSIC was dubbed "the role model of state-owned enterprises."
Former chairman surprised
This dramatic change in fortune surprised not only Yu, who was suddenly informed of the decision on Monday night, but also officials at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Commission of National Corporations (
The "greening" of the nation's state-owned enterprises has triggered a backlash from opposition lawmakers.
The KMT's Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) yesterday cited the China Steel Corp (中鋼) as an example, criticizing the political considerations that appear to have taken precedence in the recent appointments.
The profits of China Steel Corp dropped from NT$23 billion under former chairman Wang Chung-yu (
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Residents have called on the Taipei City Government to reconsider its plan to demolish a four-decades-old pedestrian overpass near Daan Forest Park. The 42-year-old concrete and steel structure that serves as an elevated walkway over the intersection of Heping and Xinsheng roads is to be closed on Tuesday in preparation for demolition slated for completion by the end of the month. However, in recent days some local residents have been protesting the planned destruction of the intersection overpass that is rendered more poetically as “sky bridge” in Chinese. “This bridge carries the community’s collective memory,” said a man surnamed Chuang
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm earlier today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, in this year's Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am, the CWA said. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) with a 100km radius, it said. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA meteorologist Huang En-hung (黃恩宏) said. However, a more accurate forecast would be made on Wednesday, when Yinxing is
NEW DESTINATIONS: Marketing campaigns to attract foreign travelers have to change from the usual promotions about Alishan and Taroko Gorge, the transport minister said The number of international tourists visiting Taiwan is estimated to top 8 million by the end of this year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said yesterday, adding that the ministry has not changed its goal of attracting 10 million foreign travelers this year. Chen made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to brief lawmakers about the ministry’s plan to boost foreign visitor arrivals. Last month, Chen told the committee that the nation might attract only 7.5 million tourists from overseas this year and that when the ministry sets next year’s goal, it would not include
RSS