Independence activist Koh Se-kai (
Koh met yesterday with former Tokyo mayor Shintaro Ishihara, who is leading a delegation to attend President Chen Shui-bian's (
Koh, a law and political science professor at Formosa University, has also been invited by Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) to join the Presidential Office's human rights task force.
Mark Chen disclosed the upcoming appointment when receiving foreign guests at the CKS Airport yesterday for Chen Shui-bian's upcoming inauguration.
Koh was born in 1934 and earned a doctorate at Tokyo University.
A senior leader of the nation's independence movement, he was elected chairman of the World United Formosans for Independence in 1987 and chairman of the Taiwan Independence Party in 1998.
"Koh, Lo and Minister Chen are all comrades in fighting for Taiwan's democracy. They were all members of Formosans for Independence," said Ng Chiau-tong (
"I think that Koh's priority is to realize a public meeting of high-ranking Taiwanese and Japanese officials as soon as possible," Ng said.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet said yesterday that outgoing minister of economic affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) accepted an offer to take up the vacancy for the last of the Cabinet's seven ministers without portfolio. Lin will be in charge of reviewing bills and projects related to finance and economics.
The managing director of the Cabinet's Aviation Safety Council, Yong Kay (
Once the legislature gives the establishment of the NCC the go-ahead, the long-anticipated agency will be established under the Executive Yuan as an independent entity to supervise the nation's telecommunications and media industries.
Currently, the media industry is regulated by the Government Information Office (GIO), while the telecommunications industry falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Ministry of National Defense.
In appointments of No. 2 positions at Cabinet agencies, Lee Ruey-tsang (
Thomas Yeh (葉明峰), director of the Cabinet's fourth division in charge of finance and economics, will be promoted to vice chairman of the Council of Economic Planning and Development (CEPD). Yeh used to serve as the secretary-general of the CEPD.
Ting-kuei (
Yang Tzu-pao (
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed