An executive meeting of the General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC) set to review the membership of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday was called off amid speculation that the group was to elect a new president to prevent Tsai from assuming leadership of it.
The meeting to review the Tsai’s application and those of 624 other potential members was canceled due to lack of a quorum.
Association president Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), whose term expired yesterday, rejected accusations that the group was trying to deny membership to Tsai and the others, saying the review of membership applications was on the meeting’s agenda.
Photo: Wang Wen-lin, Taipei Times
Liu criticized 12 executive members who issued a joint statement on Sunday urging the association to convene the needed meetings for a leadership transition, because they were all absent yesterday.
The 12 members included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), the former legislative speaker; former United Microelectronics Corp chairman Robert Tsao (曹興誠); Fubon Financial Holdings chairman Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠); Shin Kong Financial Holding chairman Eugene Wu (吳東進) and Taiwan Cement Corp chairman Leslie Koo (辜成允).
Their statement said the association should complete the induction of new members in due course to facilitate a leadership transition without provoking unnecessary conflicts, amid rumors that the association’s 35-person executive committee wanted to elect a new president to prevent Tsai Ing-wen from succeeding Liu.
“I think it is apparent to everyone who caused the meeting to be aborted. I am confused and disappointed [by their action],” Liu said.
The nation’s president has traditionally led the GACC, which was established to help promote cultural affairs and bridge the gap between the president and cultural circles.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) broke with tradition by appointing Liu to head the association after the former premier left office in 2009.
There has been criticism, especially among the pan-green camp, over the association’s failing to members as they left, with some legislators calling it an attempt by the former KMT administration to privatize the GACC’s assets and to use it as a platform for cross-strait ties for its own purposes.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) told a news conference that the association, which was founded in 1967 with 70 percent of its founding capital raised from state-owned businesses, should be a public asset managed by the state, but Liu has been working the association to deny membership to Tsai Ing-wen and new members.
The delay in a leadership transition is an attempt to make the association a private body and the association assets, which are worth NT$1.9 billion (US$59.6 million), private property, Wu said.
However, Liu yesterday reiterated that the association is a private organization and its is only subject to the Civil Associations Act (人民團體法) and related regulations, while its assets are private property.
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