A media report that the Executive Yuan is about to hire the wife of new presidential spokesperson Yin Wei (殷瑋) drew criticism yesterday.
The report comes amid a series of government hirings, which the opposition describes as “political rewards” for people in President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “inner circle.”
The Chinese-language Apple Daily yesterday cited an unidentified person as saying that the Executive Yuan had interviewed Yin’s wife, Yeh Nai-yu (葉乃瑜), in private for a position at the newly established new media department and that she would be hired, even though the vacancy has yet to be announced publicly.
Photo: CNA
Yin, former deputy director of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Culture and Communications Committee, was appointed spokesperson for the Presidential Office on Saturday.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) yesterday accused the Executive Yuan of “black-box” hiring” designed he said to only reward “comrades.”
Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) rejected the accusation, saying the office is not holding open recruitment and that Yeh “was the only candidate who has rich experience in filmmaking and policy promotion and communication.”
Sun said he could not think who could have recommended Yeh for the position.
Responding to the report on Facebook, Yeh denied taking advantage of her husband’s position to apply for the job.
She said she had worked in the Presidential Office for three years in related fields and had resigned upon Yin’s transfer to the Presidential Office.
Yeh said she could have stayed if she wanted to exploit Yin’s power, but added that she was willing to give up the job opportunity if Yin asked her to.
The 26-year-old, who previously worked for the KMT’s Youth Corps, described the report and the public discourse on the issue as “gender discrimination and male chauvinism.”
The media report came on the heels of the Taiwan Provincial Government’s controversial rehiring of former civil servant Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英).
Kuo had been dismissed in 2009 for making derogatory remarks about ethnic Taiwanese in several articles that he published under his pseudonym, Fan Lan-chin (范蘭欽), during the time he served as an official at the now-defunct Government Information Office in Toronto, Canada.
The Control Yuan’s investigation into the case is ongoing.
Meanwhile, former New Party legislator Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大) on Thursday resigned as a senior specialist in the Taipei City Government’s secretariat, amid controversy that she was hired to help her meet her pension requirements.
“These cases obviously represent the [Ma] regime’s political rewards for those in the ‘inner circle,’ which disregards public opinion or candidates’ expertise, and instead reflects the long-standing phenomenon of the Ma administration’s ‘inbreeding,’” DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated