All employees for the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung will be hired in an open and transparent manner, the head of the organizing committee promised yesterday after Kaohsiung City councilors across party lines accused her of persistently ignoring employment protocols.
This is not the first time that Olympic track and field bronze medalist Chi Cheng (紀政), the chief executive officer of the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee, has come under fire for seemingly going against the government's recruitment procedures.
Despite admitting that she had violated procedure in the recent hiring of three professionals, Chi said that they were all experts in their respective fields.
The criticism came during a meeting yesterday morning when Chi was giving a report on the progress of preparations for the games.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) City Councilor Lin Kuo-cheng (
Lin said Chi's unwillingness to follow the rules had put an extra burden on the city's auditing department and something had to be done to ensure an open and fair recruitment process.
Chen Hsin-yu (
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) in June ordered that all recruitment had to be transparent, but Chi still approved the three names without ever making their positions available to the public, Chen said.
It is estimated that more than 3,200 athletes from 90 countries will participate in the games. More than 100,000 tourists are expected to visit, in addition to 300 foreign VIPs and 300 media workers from around the world.
The games will cost NT$1.76 billion (US$54 million), the committee has said.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from
The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final