Three pan-green lawmakers yesterday filed a suit against the country's former WTO representative for violating a revolving-door regulation for civil servants. They also accused him of shamefully compromising the nation's rights in negotiations on the trade mission's title at the WTO.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-cher (
The clause stipulates that a civil servant must wait for three years before assuming any managerial position at a profit-making company if it is relevant to the position the official held before leaving the civil service, and if they occupied this post for at least five years.
Violators are subject to a jail term of up to five years and a fine of up to NT$1 million (US$30,392).
Yen left his position at the WTO mission in May this year and was elected chairman of Fuhwa Financial Holding Co (
The law stipulates that Yen was not allowed to take up the job until May 2008, according to the lawmakers.
Yen approved the establishment of the company in November 2001 in his capacity as finance minister.
Lai yesterday accused Yu of "surrendering the nation's sovereignty under humiliating terms" during his stint as the WTO representative.
Lai, a former top WTO negotiator, said that Yen's submissive attitude resulted in the alteration of the name of the nation's permanent WTO mission and the way Taiwanese diplomats are addressed in the body.
The WTO had not updated its directory since October 2002 because of a row between China and Taiwan over the latter's official title in the body, which is the "Permanent Mission of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu."
China had sought in vain to lower Taiwan's status in the WTO to the same as that of Hong Kong and Macau until February 2003, when Yen gave in to pressure from Beijing and then WTO director-general Supachai Panitchpakdi, Lai said.
She said that she and other negotiators had originally successfully rejected China's requests before Taiwan's accession to the WTO.
After six months of agonizing negotiations, Lai said, they managed to thwart China's requests and make the smallest possible adjustment in the wording of accession papers.
Taiwan joined the WTO on Jan. 1, 2002, and in March 2002 the nation successfully obtained diplomatic status for its officials under the titles of minister, counselor and first, second and third secretary, as well as gaining full diplomatic immunity at the WTO.
The names of the Presidential Office and Executive Yuan could also appear in official documents addressed to the WTO.
However, things took a dramatic turn in February 2003 when Supachai collaborated with China to make five changes to Taiwan's official status.
Lai said Yen had recommended that the government accept these requests.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Passengers aboard Korean Airlines Flight KE189 arrived in Taichung safely yesterday after a scare the previous day encountering uncontrolled decompression, which injured 13 passengers. Flight KE189 departed from Incheon at 4:45pm on Saturday bound for Taichung with 125 passengers on board. The flight was above Jeju Island when a fault in the pressurization system occurred 50 minutes after takeoff. Online flight tracker Flightradar24’s data show that the plane dropped more than 8,000 meters within 15 minutes, before it returned and landed back at Incheon Airport at 19:38pm. Thirteen passengers on board had a headache or earache due to the incident and were hospitalized. A different
China might seek to isolate Taiwan and weaken its economy through a “quarantine,” which would make it difficult for the US to respond and force Taipei to negotiate on unification, CNN reported on Saturday. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) “increasingly bellicose actions” toward Taiwan have heightened concerns that Beijing would use its military against Taiwan, it said, citing a report by think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). However, China might choose to initiate a quarantine, rather than a military invasion of Taiwan, to avoid US involvement, it said. “A quarantine [is] a law enforcement-led operation to control
A new message broadcast on the Taipei MRT’s Wenhu (Brown) Line urging passengers to yield their seats to those in need, not necessarily elderly people, would be extended to other MRT lines and public transportation in the capital, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday. Chiang was responding to reporters’ questions on the sidelines of a news conference at Taipei City Hall promoting healthy walking. Several disputes over priority seats on public transportation have recently been reported, sparking debate about who qualifies to sit in them, as most of the cases involved elderly people asking young people to give up their