The Legislative Yuan yesterday confirmed the appointment of Chou Hung-hsien (周弘憲) and Hsu Shu-hsiang (許舒翔) as the new president and vice president of the Examination Yuan respectively.
Lawmakers also approved the appointment of six members of the Examination Yuan, which is responsible for administering national civil servant exams and appointing, training and protecting the rights of civil service personnel.
Chou, the 71-year-old incumbent Examination Yuan vice president, was confirmed by a 59-53 vote in the 113-seat legislature.
Photo: CNA
Hsu, 63, received 112 votes.
Chou has been working in public office for the past 16 years, serving in various positions including in the Examination Yuan and the Executive Yuan, and is a licensed lawyer.
Supreme Prosecutors’ Office prosecutor Ker Li-ling (柯麗鈴) was the only one of President William Lai’s (賴清德) seven Examination Yuan nominees to not be confirmed by the legislature.
The six others who were approved in individual votes include former deputy mayor of Taipei and New Taipei City Teng Chia-Chi (鄧家基), and National Chengchi University Department of Public Administration professor Huang Tong-yi (黃東益).
They also include National Taiwan Ocean University and National Sun Yat-sen University emeritus professor Chiau Wen-yan (邱文彥), former deputy minister of Civil Service Lu Chiu-hui (呂秋慧), former Examination Yuan member Wang Hsiu-hung (王秀紅) and Academy for the Judiciary president Iwan Nawi.
A simple majority is required for Examination Yuan nominees to be confirmed by the legislature.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party holds 51 seats, while the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) holds 52 seats.
Among the remaining seats, two are held by KMT-aligned independents May Chin (高金素梅) and Chen Chao-ming (陳超明), and eight are held by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
Chin, Chen and the entire KMT caucus voted against confirming Chou and Ker.
TPP lawmakers decided to vote against Ker and Iwan Nawi, TPP caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said before the vote.
The TPP voted against Ker due to her lack of understanding and familiarity with the Examination Yuan and its functions in prior questioning, and against Iwan Nawi, as the party believes she did not fulfill her responsibilities as commissioner in the previous term, he said.
However, TPP Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said she voted incorrectly, accidentally marking both options for Ker on her ballot.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han
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