President Chen Shui-bian (
"I will personally convene the committee and offer concrete proposals within the coming months," Chen said yesterday at the opening ceremony of the three-day National Public Development Conference.
Chen said the new committee's proposals would be delivered to the legislature after the elections scheduled for Dec. 1.
The president's remarks yesterday were taken as a sign that he supports a proposal put forward last year by the Cabinet's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission.
The commission has proposed reducing the number of agencies within the Cabinet from 33 to 25.
Chen said yesterday that he was well-aware of the difficulties different government agencies face in coordinating projects such as public construction plans -- which often leads to their delay.
The president said he hoped business leaders and academics could offer their advice on how to streamline the government.
Chen added that a streamlined government would also lead to the smoother implementation of the 322 proposals put forth by the recently concluded Economic Development Advisory Conference.
Also yesterday, the president promised that the government would spend another NT$500 billion over the next five years on infrastructure projects to help stimulate the economy.
This is on top of the NT$810 billion in public construction spending promised by Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) earlier this year.
Lin Neng-pai (
"More than 600 representatives from more than 47 institutions -- including the government, academic and industrial circles -- are attending the conference," Lin said.
"It's the biggest forum for discussing state construction since the one held seven years ago."
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique