The Financial Supervisory Com-mission (FSC) yesterday approved Lee Chin-chen's (李進誠) resignation from his post as a counselor, after he was indicted on Tuesday for alleged involvement in an illegal "vulture" investors group.
Lee decided to resign to minimize damage to the commission after the indictment, and to prepare to defend his innocence with all his might in the upcoming trial, the commission's spokesman Lin Chung-cheng (
Lee was originally head of the FSC's Examination Bureau, but was transferred after coming under fire for allegedly being involved in insider trading.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Prior to approving Lee's resignation, the FSC had announced that he would be suspended from duty. The FSC said inappropriate behavior -- including meeting and partying with Lin Ming-da (林明達), a suspect in the illegal trading of Power Quotient shares, in improper places such as hostess bars -- had led to a dereliction of duty and met the requirements for suspension.
According to Article 2 of the Law on Discipline of Civil Servants (公務人員懲戒法), public employees who are derelict in their duty face punishments including being removed from their post or suspension of duties.
The decision to suspend Lee marked a reversal of the commission's stance the day before, and came amid mounting public criticism.
The day before, the commission had said it would not suspend Lee until he was found guilty by the courts.
The commission will use high moral standards to evaluate the qualification of candidates for the post of director-general of the commission's Examination Bureau in the future, Lin said.
He did not elaborate on whether the regulator had found a suitable successor.
Earlier yesterday, two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers requested the resignation of FSC Chairman Kong Jaw-sheng (龔照勝), because he had hired Lee.
DPP Legislator Wang Shih-chien (
Wang threatened to launch a signature drive to request Premier Frank Hsieh (
DPP Legislator Charles Chiang (
Chiang also questioned Lee's qualifications for his former job, alleging that he had acquired the position because of a "powerful individual."
The premier said yesterday he did not possess the authorization to relieve Lee of his post but he would ask Lee's supervisor to make proper "arrangements" as soon as possible.
"Lee is a government official who was hired after he passed the national exam so the premier is not authorized to relieve him. But, his [Lee's] supervisor at the FSC can reshuffle and transfer or suspend him from his job," said Government Information Office Minister Pasuya Yao (姚文智), who relayed Hsieh's remarks to the media at a press briefing after the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by