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Rehiring of civil servant an ‘aberration’
By Lee Hsin-fang / Staff reporter
The process by which controversial former civil servant Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英) was rehired by the government was found to be an aberration, Control Yuan member Chien Lin Hui-chun (錢林慧君) said yesterday.
Kuo, who was dismissed from his position as a secretary at the now-defunct Government Information Office in Toronto, Canada, in 2009 for disparaging comments about ethnic Taiwanese published under the pseudonym Fan Lan-chin (范蘭欽), was recently rehired as a foreign affairs secretary at the Nantou-based office of the streamlined Taiwan Provincial Government.
Chien Lin launched a probe into the case after lawmakers questioned the rehiring of Kuo, which entitled the 65-year-old to receive a monthly pension of NT$60,000 (US$1,984) after his retirement which is scheduled for July, saying it was done to make up for the forfeiture of Kuo’s pension due to his dismissal.
Lin Junq-tzer (林政則), a minister without portfolio at the Executive Yuan who also serves as chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government and who was subpoenaed to the Control Yuan to explain the appointment, admitted that the recruitment process was “flawed” because neither a written examination nor an oral examination was held, Chien Lin told reporters.
Chien Lin said that according to her preliminary investigation, the job opening was made public on Feb. 26 and it attracted 10 applicants before the deadline on March 3 and that seven of the jobseekers were qualified for the job.
Kuo was selected as the best qualified applicant at a meeting held at 2pm on March 6 and a notification of his appointment was sent to the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration and approved the same day, Chien Lin said.
Chien Lin said that Kuo received the letter of appointment the next day and began work on March 10, two weeks before he turned 65.
The hurried handling of the hiring was unusual, Chien Lin said.
“The whole process was ridiculous. Why the hell were they in such a hurry to have Kuo rehired?” he asked.
Lin said that Kuo got the job solely because of his talent and that it was his administrative efficiency that enabled the government to fill the position in such a short period of time, Chien Lin said.
Unconvinced by the account, Chien Lin said she would continue her investigation.
source: Taipei Times
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