The pan-blue opposition yesterday demanded that Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (
"Of course it would be easy to quit now, but that wouldn't solve the problem," she said. "The most important thing right now is to get the water back on. I promise I will not remain in my position if I am found to be responsible and cannot meet a new timetable."
Ho's remarks drew a round of applause from Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) lawmakers, who had invited her and Water Resources Agency Director-General Chen Shen-hsien (
PHOTO: HSIEH WU-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Throwing his backing behind Ho, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip William Lai (
"Everybody should just shut up and help the government solve the problem," he said.
After yesterday's briefing, Chen confirmed that he had offered his resignation in person to his superviser, Ho, in the morning, but was asked to stay in his post.
Chen revealed that it was not the minister's fault that Premier Frank Hsieh (
With Taoyuan County Commissioner Chu Li-lun (朱立倫) looking on, Hsieh yesterday apologized to county residents for making an empty promise during an inspection trip to Shihmen Dam (石門水庫).
Chu asked the premier to pressure the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Water Resources Agency and Taiwan Water Supply Corp tell the county exactly when they can expect the water supply to be fully restored. He also asked the national government to fix the county's regular water supply problems, which usually occur in the wake of a typhoon.
Upset by the premier's false promise, opposition People First Party (PFP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucuses yesterday jointly requested the resignations of Hsieh and Ho.
"The premier should step down for making defamatory remarks about Chu, who speaks up for his residents and asks for help from the government," said KMT caucus whip Cho Po-yuan (
KMT Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (
Chin Hui-chu (
She also said that Chu might want to give up his plan to ask the government to include Taoyuan in the eight-year flood-fighting package, because the root of the county's water supply problem is not a lack of money, but rather the government's incompetence and inefficiency.
Yang Wei-fu (
also see story:
Anger mounts as water woes continue
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to lead a delegation to China next month, saying she hopes to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and bring stability to the Taiwan Strait. “I am grateful and happy to accept this invitation,” Cheng said in a statement from the KMT chairperson’s office. Cheng said she hopes both sides can work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, enhance exchange and cooperation, bring stability to the Taiwan Strait and improve people’s livelihoods. At today's news conference, Cheng said any efforts to
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
RSS