Outgoing Minister of Finance Ho Chih-chin (
"Having served the country is the biggest source of pride in my life," Ho told finance officials at a farewell party at the ministry yesterday.
Expressing his gratitude to his subordinates at the ministry, Ho said that he was proud to have played a part in the ministry's achievements in striking a balance between the government's revenue and expenditure.
After years of deficits, the central government had a NT$16.6 billion (US$540 million) surplus in 2006 and a NT$68 billion surplus last year under his 20-month tenure, said Ho, who had given up his US citizenship before taking the post.
After taking some rest, Ho said, he may choose to resume his teaching job at National Taiwan University.
Acting finance minister Lee Ruey-tsang (
"It will be very difficult for taxpayers to evade taxes once the ministry's new taxation system has been fully implemented," he said.
The new system, which had been facilitated under Ho's leadership, will enhance efficiency in tracking earnings for taxation, Lee said.
Meanwhile, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Chang said he had rejected several previous resignation letters Ho had tendered for various reasons, but approved the latest one because he agreed with Ho that he had to take responsibility for a scuffle that broke out at Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) campaign headquarters on Wednesday.
Chang made the remarks in response to a report in the Chinese-language China Times that the premier had rebuked Ho immediately after the incident, prompting Ho to resign the next day.
Giving in to pressure from four Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, Ho had accompanied the lawmakers on a visit to Hsieh's campaign headquarters in Taipei.
The lawmakers visited the campaign office, located in a building belonging to First Financial Holding Co (
The legislators' intrusion triggered strong displeasure among Hsieh's supporters, who considered the move provocative. Physical clashes broke out when the supporters tried to prevent the lawmakers from leaving the building under police escort.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS