The Executive Yuan’s nomination of a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator’s wife as a new National Communications Commission (NCC) member has drawn mixed reactions from lawmakers, with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators dismissed the nomination as simply “returning political favors.”
Since NCC commissioners Chang Shi-chung (張時中) and Chen Yuan-ling (陳元玲) resigned before their terms concluded, the Executive Yuan on Friday said it has nominated former television anchorwoman Wang Yung-ho (汪用和) and NCC Counselor Chiang Yu-fen (江幽芬) to be the new NCC commissioners.
Wang is the wife of former KMT legislator Justin Chou (周守訓), who lost his seat in Taipei’s Datong District (大同) earlier this year to DPP challenger Pasuya Yao (姚文智).
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the nomination was another example of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “childish” recruitment methods.
“It [the nomination] is nothing more than returning a political favor,” Ker said. “It [the Executive Yuan] should not make a rash decision, even if there is nobody qualified in their camp to choose from.”
Ker said it takes more than media experience to be an NCC commissioner, as the body’s members are in charge of the nation’s telecommunications industry.
Ker added that his caucus cannot accept the nomination, but did not say what actions it would take to abrogate the nominations.
However, KMT caucus whip Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said KMT legislators have all responded positively to the nomination.
“In this age, each person is evaluated by his or her capabilities,” Wu said. “Women and men have equal rights in this country. A woman or a man should not be treated differently simply because of their spouse.”
The nominations will be reviewed by the Legislative Yuan.
Aside from her experience as an anchorwoman at Taiwan Television, Wang has a bachelor’s degree in library and information science, as well as an executive master’s in Business Administration from National Taiwan University. She is also chairwoman of Yushan Entertainment. She would finish the term left vacant by Chang, which expires in July 2014.
Chiang, on the other hand, is a senior civil servant that has worked her way up from the Directorate General of Telecommunications before the agency became the NCC.
Chiang has a law degree from Soochow University and specializes in communications regulations and law. If elected, Chiang would take Chen’s position, which expires in July 2016.
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