The outgoing chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday expressed concern whether new commission members would be able to maintain their impartiality and questioned the government’s motivation in appointing a new panel with the year-end elections just a month away.
Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) made the remarks during the handover to his successor, Lai Hao-min (賴浩敏).
Along with Lai, 10 other commission members also took office yesterday.
All 11 CEC members nominated by the Cabinet passed the legislative review on Tuesday afternoon, and their appointment followed in the evening.
However, the outgoing chairman said he was worried that the commission might not hear opposing voices because three of its 11 members are affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), eight have no party affiliation and none represents the opposition.
“If the CEC is controlled by the party in power and the opposition is not represented, the impartiality of electoral affairs may be affected,” Chang said. “The opposition had never been absent in the CEC before.”
He also questioned the government's intention in appointing a new commission right before the local elections on Dec. 5.
Chang said the term of the outgoing commission members does not end until next June, and “based on the law, the Cabinet is to nominate new members three months before CEC members’ term expires, which would be next March.”
By doing so, the government was compromising the CEC's legitimacy and may give rise to doubts as to why the government is so eager to reorganize the nation's top electoral authority right before the elections, Chang said. He said he handed over the chairmanship only to show his respect for the system of government.
“Wu said that reappointing commission members is to make the CEC more trustworthy, but I think what he did is just the opposite,” Chang said, referring to Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義).
Despite Chang’s criticism, the new chairman said he expected his newly sworn-in colleagues to work independently and think beyond party interests.
“I hope that you [the new members] understand that resisting political pressure is very important and urge all influential political entities to stay out of the CEC's operation,” Lai said.
He said that rooting out election irregularities would be a priority for the CEC under his leadership.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS