A rested and refreshed Premier-designate Tang Fei (
Tang Fei has been at Veterans General Hospital for two weeks to recover from an operation to remove a benign tumor from his chest.
During the press conference Tang announced appointments of two Cabinet posts: Lin Chun-yi (林俊義), professor at the Department of Biology, Tunghai University, who will become the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Administration, and Hsu I-shiung (許義雄), the Director of the Department of Physical Education, National Taiwan Normal University, who will take the position of head of the National Sports Council.
PHOTO: SUNG CHI-HSIUNG, LIBERTY TIMES
Lin, 62, graduated with a BA in English from National Taiwan University (
During President-elect Chen Shui-bian's (
The appointment of Lin was reportedly welcomed by environmental activists. National Taiwan University professor Hsu Kuang-jung (
Hsu, 51, has dedicated his career to physical education. He was the convener who lead the drafting of the NSC's "White Paper on the Physical Education in the ROC (
Hsu once presented an essay -- revealing how he expected Taiwan's physical education to develop -- in a nationwide conference.
He proposed making physical education a central government-level issue, encouraged research into problems facing professional athletes, and suggested new ways that physical education could help people improve their personal lives.
Later yesterday, Chen also announced the appointment of Lee Ming-liang (
Lee, aged 65, graduated from National Taiwan University's College of Medicine. While a student there, Lee used to play the violin for elderly mainlanders who worked at the school's cafeteria.
Later, he studied hereditary diseases and chromosome abnormality at the pediatrics department of Rochester University in the US. Lee remained in New York between 1963-1992.
Lee has made great contributions in the field of human genetics studies and is regarded as a preeminent scholar in the area. Lee also spent two years teaching and researching at Cambridge University, one of the few scholars in Taiwan who has studied in both places.
Lee was invited by Master Cheng Yen upon his return to Taiwan to preside over the establishment Tzu Chi University and has been the president of Tzu Chi College of Medicine and Humanities.
According to his friends and colleagues, Lee is a straightforward and honest scholar who has devoted himself entirely to academic studies.
During the past week, local media reports have claimed Tang was having disagreements with Chen over the lineup of the new Cabinet and was already growing "tired" of his future post even before he stepped into office.
Tang denied such comments saying they were just hearsay.
He said that during his stay in the hospital, especially the first two days when he was in intensive care, he was out of touch, and that was when these rumors began to spread.
However, he said, "since I transferred to a common ward, the preparatory work of the Cabinet has been in progress."
Chen has visited me five times during this period and there have been no obstacles in our communications, Tang said.
Vice-premier Yu Shyi-kun, Executive Yuan secretary-general Wea Chi-lin (
Tang responded to recent complaints from the DPP that there have been unusual and frequent transfers of personnel by the outgoing Cabinet. Tang said the redeployment of personnel during the transition of power was understandable, but suggested laws be established to eliminate misunderstanding.
"This is the first time in some fifty years that there is such a large-scale personnel change in the Executive Yuan -- nearly 90 percent of politically appointed officials are leaving and being replaced by new people," Tang said.
"[The arguments] may have been brought up because of different interpretations of the law. We can establish laws to help eliminate these grey areas," he added.
Yu confirmed that Chen's camp had been irritated by what it thought was improper personnel transfers by the outgoing Cabinet.
A local news report said that Chen's camp had written a memorandum which said "the new administration would not recognize any personnel change that takes place within one month of the inauguration."
However, when asked by the media, Yu did not directly confirm the news or comment whether the memorandum had been written.
Yu did however urge the outgoing Cabinet to respect the new government, especially in the realm of personnel appointments and funds.
"The future government would be required to take responsibility [for recent appointments]. So, in personnel, public grants and budget affairs, the current government should respect the new government." Yu said.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS