The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said that the government neglected national security concerns when it allowed a top security official’s family member to teach at a Chinese university.
National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi’s (蘇起) younger brother, National Chengchi University law professor Su Yung-chin (蘇永欽), currently serves as a visiting professor at Zhejiang University in China.
DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) yesterday criticized the government for placing no restrictions on family members of high-ranking officials when they visit or work in China.
“Su Chi’s wife, Chen Yue-ching (陳月卿), went to Beijing in April to promote her book. At the time the Presidential Office said ‘it would not happen again,’ and now Su Chi’s younger brother takes up a job as a professor at Zhejiang University in China. Will the Presidential Office tell the public that it won’t happen again?” Cheng said.
Noting that Su Yung-chin formerly served as chairman of the National Communications Commission, Cheng said he could have easily found a teaching job in Taiwan.
“We do not see any reason why he has to take a job in China,” Cheng said.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said at a separate setting yesterday that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was aware of the matter, but that “Su Chi and Su Yung-chin are not direct relatives.”
Wang said in modern society brothers live their own separate lives, and their relationship was unlike that of a husband and wife. Su Ying-chin’s academic activities in China were not a matter of national security, he said.
In response, Cheng said the Presidential Office’s explanation was not convincing and criticized the Ma government and Su Chi’s family for failing to realize the sensitivity of their activities in China and the public’s negative impression of their conduct.
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said officials involved in national security affairs have to take tests before they take up their posts and that one of the questions on the test is whether or not they have family members that are involved in activities in China.
“It is ironic that Su Chi is the top security official and yet his wife and younger brother have both visited or taken a job in China,” Huang said.
Asked for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) also criticized Su Yung-chin.
“It is alright for an ordinary person to teach in China, but it is improper for Su Yung-chin to take up a job as a professor at a Chinese national university,” Chiu said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
RSS