Premier-designate Yu Shyi-kun spent his last weekend before taking office dining with Cabinet members yesterday and discussing the details of a joint pledge in which team spirit, efficiency and frugality will be emphasized.
In addition, a crash course for incoming Cabinet members has been scheduled for Thursday. Old and new members have been invited to participate in the program, in which government officials will familiarize themselves with their jobs and learn how to deal with lawmakers and the media.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Yu ate lunch and dinner yesterday with two groups of newly appointed Cabinet members at the Armed Forces Officer's Club.
Chuang Suo-hang (
"It's a warm-up for the big day," Chuang said.
The incoming Cabinet members also exchanged views on the joint pledge, an idea brought up by Yu, Chuang said.
"The purpose of the joint pledge is to commit oneself to do the utmost to continue political reforms, increase administrative efficiency and practice frugality," Chuang quoted Yu as saying.
Chuang also said that the pledge was designed to show the public that the new Cabinet is determined to accomplish the goals and work as a team for the best interests of the nation.
"The premier emphasized that each and every `combative Cabinet' member should work as a team and do their best to accomplish the missions," Chuang said.
In explaining the definition of a "combative Cabinet," Chuang quoted Yu as saying that the term means the new Cabinet will face challenges courageously and take the initiative to identify problems and solve them without hesitation.
Yu appointed the 39 members of the "combative Cabinet" between Jan. 21 and Jan. 24. Eight of them are women and 16 are holdovers from the previous Cabinet. The average age of the new Cabinet members is 53 years old.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS