Wang Cheng-hsu (王正旭) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took the oath of office as a legislator-at-large yesterday, filling a vacancy left by former legislative speaker You Si-kun (游錫?), who quit after he lost the vote earlier this month to retain the position.
Wang, chairman of the Hope Foundation for Cancer Care, was listed in 13th place on the DPP’s legislator-at-large register, which meant he was the first pick for the party after You resigned following his loss to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) in the Feb. 1 vote for speaker of the legislature.
Wang was sworn in a ceremony presided over by Constitutional Court Justice Tsai Tzung-jen (蔡宗珍) and witnessed by Han, Deputy Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), the DPP and the KMT caucus whips, and former DPP legislator Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源).
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Wang said he is ready to help advance healthcare in Taiwan, in line with president-elect William Lai’s (賴清德) plans to build a healthier society.
Wang said he hoped that he would serve on the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee to help achieve that goal.
Chiu, who serves as honorary president of the Taiwan Medical Association, said there is still much room for improvement in Taiwan’s medical sector, and it has been striving for a long time to provide better healthcare to the public.
Wang has the qualifications, professional expertise and experience to help in that regard, Chiu said, adding that the medical community fully supports the selection of Wang as a legislator.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
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