Both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucuses expressed their reservations yesterday about some members of the new Cabinet.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) told a news conference that Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) failed to recruit talent from outside the government, adding that the Cabinet reshuffle was merely a reshuffle within the administration.
Lu also expressed concern that new Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), might not be able to win the hearts of the public, especially at the grassroots level, despite his academic credentials.
Lu said he could not comment on the qualification of the new minister of foreign affairs because he was not familiar with Timothy Yang (楊進添) at all.
DPP Policy Research Committee head Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the new Cabinet members were like “little Ma Ying-jeous.”
Ker said he had never heard of Yang, adding that Minister of Education Wu Ching-chi (吳清基) was more of a politician, noting that he had represented the KMT in an unsuccessful bid for Tainan County commissioner.
DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) said she “laughed out loud throughout the night” after learning of the new line-up. She did not elaborate.
When approached for comment on her way to the DPP caucus’ meeting at the legislature, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said the appointment of new Cabinet members showed that the KMT had politics in mind.
Tsai urged the new Cabinet to respect the DPP, adding that the party could engage in “meaningful communication” with the KMT if the DPP were accorded respect.
Meanwhile, the new premier canceled his plan to visit the DPP caucus after the caucus said Wu should visit another time as many of its members were helping with post-typhoon reconstruction in the south.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
The National Immigration Agency has banned two Chinese from returning to Taiwan, after they published social media content it described as disrespectful to national sovereignty. The agency imposed a two-month ban on a Chinese man surnamed Liang (梁) and a permanent ban on a woman surnamed Yang (楊), an influencer with 23 million followers, in October last year and last week respectively. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that Chinese visitors to Taiwan are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing their entry permits. The government has handled the ban and
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