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
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
RSS