Taiwan's Ma cleared of corruption charges
07-08-14
Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou was cleared of all corruption charges on Tuesday. boosting his Nationalist Party's 2008 election bid as it pushes for closer ties with the Chinese mainland.
Ma, a former mayor of Taipei, was charged in February on suspicious of diverting about T$11,176 million($229,000)in special funds into his personal account every month for about five years.
In July, prosecutor pressed additional charges, including breach of trust.
Ma resigned as chairman of the KMT, Taiwan's leading opposition party, after being indicted on February 13, but declared that he would run for the 2008 Taiwan leadership election.
The expenses funds, also known as special allowance funds, are allocated by the Taiwan authorities to executive officers. Official receipts are required for half the funds. The spending of the other half only required the signature of the official.
Your worst sacking stories
it is every employee's worst nightmare. You're called into the boss's office and told to take a seat. They shut the door then say the words you hoped you'd never had to hear in your professional life.
"I am afraid we're going to have to let you go.."
And just like that, you've been sacked. it comes as a shock to many, is expected by some and is very well-deserved for others.
Have you got ever been sacked? Got a good story? Tell us what happened.
Comments
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I pray for the day i get fired for sex in the workplace or something. Unfortunately, i think today i'll get fired for much, much more mundane reasons.
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Best one I've head--"I do not know how we 'd get on without you! We'll find out on Monday!"
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I went to a work function, drank too much, fell down the stairs, knocked myself unconscious, ambulance was called, taken to hospital---and i do not remember any of this. Woke up the next day in hospital with a roaring hangover/headache and a fractured skull. Got sacked Monday! Such is life. so I went on a holiday.
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This is a beauty, after working 7 days at my sister fish n chip shop, we had an agreement that i would get paid for my work when the shop sold. this made me work harder because i knew i would get a nice payout at the end. After putting in upto 14 hours a day at my family expense, my partner fell very ill and needed to go to hospital, i told my sister i would stay with him until he settled, i was not only sacked on the spot but told by my sister to get my priorities right(fish n chips over a sick partner? I do not think so) I never received a cent and after persuing it with workplace relations, she claimed i was volunteering my time at the shop , she can get away with it because i am a family member, I do not regret what i did, i would do it again in a heart beat, my partner has since passed away and my sister is now interstate, i have a good job that actually pays weekly. So at least something worked out.
---------> That's terrible, a case of you cannot choose your relatives i guess. Still even with my brother i get agreement is writting.
I was asked to leave because both my managers had no balls to retrench people who they liked but never made any revenue for the company. I guess if money was more important then i would still be employed as their software consultant. But alas they kept the under achieving people. because they would look bad if in the future for them from promising hard workers. Enough said they are doughnuts anyway
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The company i worked for provided facilities staff including permanent on-site security guards for CBD residential apartment blocks. Clients were complaining they never saw the weekend evening security Guard X after 10 pm. We checked the cameras and the building electronic door logs(he had to swipe his passkey in certain spots which electronically registered as he patrolled) and we found a4-7 gap each night between two locations 10 meter apart. We inspected these locations and found a plant room in between had been set up as a bedroom complete with full innerspring mattress, wardrobe, shoes and campstove, Needless to say he was sacked.
Telstra bath sex scandal claims more victims
Telstra has sacked three more employees involved in an early-morning naked sex romp that occurred after they left an after-hour staff function.
And Telstra yesteday announced it would appeal against an order that it rehire and pay compensation to a fourth employee sacked for ther part in the escapade.
"Sexual harassment"
The australian reported yesterday that Telstra sacked Carlie Streeter in march after claiming she sexually harrassed three female colleagues by having sex just metres from where they were sleeping on a hotel-room floor.
Telstra said Ms Streeter had also sexually harrassed a female colleagues because she was naked in the hotel bath with two male employees in the presence of the woman.
A telstra spokeswoman revealed yesterday the two male employees---sales officer Aakash Sharma and store manager Steve Hatzistergos---had been sacked, along with a female employee it refused to name.
"As a result of our investigation into this incident, three other employees(as well as Ms Streeter) were dismissed for inappropriate behaviors," the spokewoman said.
Staff party
The complaints arose after an evening staff gathering in February when four of the employees had planned to stay overnight at a Cronulla Hotel in Sydney's south.
The industrial Relations Commision on Friday upheld Ms Streeter's claim that she had been unjustly sacked.
The commision said most of the conduct occurred well away from the workplace after, rather than during, a work function, and in a hotel room that was booked and paid for privately.
It said that although the employees were upset by Ms Streeter's conduct, it was not enough to constitute sex harrassment.
It ruled that the sexual conduct took place in a hotel room with the lights out, in the early hours of the morning, when Ms Streeter thought the other employees were asleep.
Tesltra ordered to re-employ Streeter
Telstra was ordered to re-employ Ms Streeter at another shop and pay compensation equal to any remuneration lost as a result of her sacking.
But the Telstra spokewoman said yersterday the corporation intended to appeal against the decision.
In its evidence to the commision, Telstra argued that Ms Streeter's conduct occurred in a work-related context.
It said the employees would not have been in the hotel room together had it not been for the belated Christmas party function, which as funded by Telstra.
It said the sexual intercourse engaged in by Ms Streeter was clearly not welcome to the three female colleagues because it was close to them and would have been anticipated by a reasonable person to have " offended, humiliated or intimidated them".
But Ms Streeter, through her lawyer, said the function was more in the nature of a party organized by a junior employee for a group of fellow workers than a work-related function.
She said there was no evidence that Telstra management was aware of the hotel booking, and that the room was a "private booking with no connection to Telstra at all".
Her lawyer said her conduct in having sex with Mr Sharma was not directed to anyone else in the room, no-one in the room told her the conduct was unwelcome, the lights were off and she thought everyone was asleep.
Mundane: of, relating to, or typical of this world;secular,世界的，寻常的，世俗的
volunteer:自愿
Interstate:州际的
swipe:猛击，重击
passkey:总鈅鍉
patrol，巡逻
innerspring:内装弹簧的
retrench:紧缩，节约，减少，删除，给...筑围墙
doughnut 油炸圈饼
wardrobe衣柜，衣室，衣服，行头，剧装
needless to say:不必说
escapade: 异常出轨的行为
equal to:等于
remuneration:报酬
humiliated:减压，使丢脸，耻辱
intimidate:胁迫，威协，恐吓
It is already a huge hit overseas, but now will a musical that features a bunch of songs from an old Swedish pop band perform in China?
At the end of the Chinese premiere of Mamma Mia! in Shanghai last Friday, the whole audience was on its feet swaying along of a daughter who does not know which one of three men is her father hit a chord with the crowd, who were also taken by the music--a collection of ABBA's best-loved songs.
Before the musical's tour of China, some wondered whether it would be well received, because ABBA and the their songs are not so popular among today's Chinese people.
But Nick Grace, the associate producer of the international Tour of the show, says that the show is about more than showcasing ABBA's back catalogue.
"The original producers of Mamma Mia! is very clever in avoiding the pitfall of setting up a 'tribute show' to ABBA's music," he says."Mamma Mia is very much not about that. The audience see a evening of a beautiful written plot, directed with much poignancy and comedy, and performed by some of the best singers and actors in the business."
Not having produced a show in CHina before, I cannot be sure whether Mamma Mia! will smash Beijing,Shanghai. But i do know that Chinese people have mothers, have relationships with their family, and want to live happy fulfilled lives, like every human on the planet! you do not need to know the music to hear how well composed it."
The performance and audience's reaction in shanghai have prooven Grace to be right.
"At the heart of the show is a warm story of family and relationships, the witty and the ingenious script weaves the famous ABBA songs around characters you care about," Says Wang Yuping, a 23-year-old student who watched the show.
"It is a production of tremendous warmth, vitality and technical excellence that offers an evening of unbridled fun." says Yao shuo, manager with China performing Arts Agency, the company presenting the Mamma Mia! Beijing tour.
"The fun of this show lies in the skill and wit with which ABBA's songs are fitted into the story, not just as decorations, But moving it along, almost as if they had been writen for it," comments Lun Bing, critic with Beijing Youth Daily.
"The creative team personalizes ABBA's songs in a fresh, vital and immediate way that simultaneous retains their opo integrity yet also does something more that is an essential requirement of good musical theater: to advance an appealing story and comment on it."
With music and lysics by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeu and choreography by Anthony Van Lass, Mamma Mia ! is written by Catherine Johnson and directed by Phyllida Lloyd. The sunny , funny tale of family and friendship unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On the eve of her wedding, a daughter 's quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother's past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago.
The production features 22 of ABBA's hits including: Dancing Queen, The Winner Take It All, SOS, Knowing Me, Knowing you, Take a Chance on Me, The Name of The Game, Money, Money,Money and Super Trouper.
The musica; opened at London's West End on March 23, 1999. Before the debut, the creative team " Really had no idea how it was going to be received," Says producer Judy Craymer whose initial concept in 1987 had been to use existing ABBA's songs within the format of a new, original musical. But happily she remembers:" THe audience went wild. The were literally out of their seatsand singing and dancing in the aisles---and they still are.Every night."
And now, they are doing so all around the world. It has become a global entertainment phenomenon, with currently 11 productions playing worldwide. Over the last two years, the International Tour has already performed in many cities across the world and has been seen by over 1.3 million people.
"I can vouch for the fact that every where we've been, the people have taken Mamma Mia! to their hearts, " Says Grace.
"We're thrilled that the Mamma Mia! international tour is coming to Beijing and will play at the prestigious Beijing Poly Theater. We hope that Beijing audiences will embrace Mamma Mia! and we very much look forward to visiting the exciting city," Says Craymer."
After the Shanghai Run till august 2, the international tour production with 75 tons of props will move to Beijing for a two-week run at the Poly Theater from August 7 to 19.
