“I promise that all Control Yuan members will investigate cases with only right and wrong in mind, without the intervention of any political forces,” said Wang at the swearing-in ceremony held at the Presidential Office.

Amid the public’s high expectations to resolve pervasive corruption in the country, he vowed to restore the “glory of the institution’s investigative powers” and uphold the principles of the five-power constitution laid out by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China (ROC).

“Righteousness will exalt a nation; only when there is righteousness can the country be developed,” Wang later said, citing a passage in the Bible.

The Control Yuan is one of Taiwan’s unique five branches of government, responsible for monitoring and investigating the behavior of civil servants and public officials.

It is authorized to impeach, censure and audit government and administration members.

But as a result of political wrangling between ruling and opposition parties, the government’s watchdog has not functioned normally since 2005 as the Legislature has repeatedly rejected then-President Chen Shui bian’s previous nominations.

The election of President Ma Ying-jeou in March 2008 paved the way for new members to be nominated and confirmed by the lawmaking body, owing mainly to the support of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), which controls 82 of 113 legislative seats.

The Control Yuan has reportedly piled up nearly 32,000 cases in recent years.

Wang, 70, a former finance minister known for his outspokenness who is alo the co founder of the tiny China-centric New Party, has been dedicated to charity work both in mainland China and in Taiwan in recent years.

The devout Christian was selected on June 20 by President Ma to head the highest government watchdog body for alleged integrity and toughness. He and his ombudsmen will serve a six-year term in office.

The 24 members of the Control Yuan are: Shen Mei-chen; Li Bing-nan; Li Ful-dien; Tu Shan-liang; Wu Feng-shan; Yu Teng-fang; Lin Chu-liang; Chou Yang-sun; Hung Chao-nan; Hung Teh-shuan; Ma, Yi-kung; Ma, Sheree Shiow-ru; Gau Fehng-shian; Chen Chien-min; Cheng Jen-hung; Huang Wu-tzu; Huang Huang-hsiung; Ger Yeong-kuang; Yang Mei-ling; Chao Chang-ping; Chao Ron-yaw (Louis R. Chao); Liu Yuh-san; Liu Hsin-sun; and Chien Lin Whei-Jun.

Subscribe to The China Post and save.  Click hereSharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 800 characters max

Receive China Post promos

Respond to this email