After months of preparations and anticipation, the newly formed government had its first day at the office yesterday. As fresh public officials assumed their posts, welcoming events brought light-hearted cheer and warm episodes.
After enjoying a series of banquets over the inauguration weekend, president Chen Shui-bian (
Chen expressed his gratitude to his campaign staffers during his stay and apologized for having neglected them recently due to his hectic schedule.
Tsai Ying-wen (蔡英文), chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council, had an awkward experience yesterday when she was asked by the guard at her office to register her name as a guest would. Taking the guard's gaffe in stride, Tsai followed the command and got a temporary visitor's pass.
Cognitive scientist-turned Minister of Education Ovid Tzeng (
His aide said he had originally brought formal clothes but had rushed out of his car upon arrival, leaving his suit behind on the car seat.
Tzeng confided he was unaccustomed to the formal attire. "I think I work more efficiently wearing casual clothes, but [in the future] I will try to adjust according to different times and occasions," said Tzeng.
Minister of Justice Chen Ting-nan (
Former Academia Sinica historian and new National Palace Museum Director Tu Cheng-sheng (
"I feel more comfortable being a scholar. Please just call me Mr Tu," he said.
"I am a dreamer. But my dreams can only be realized through hard work on the part of the entire team," Tu said.
He continued to say that in the future there would be no differences in status, but only in duties, at the National Palace Museum. "I welcome different opinions and suggestions because I know only by accepting criticism with an open mind can progress be made," added Tu.
After a tour her new office building, Chairperson of the Council of Labor Affairs Chen Chu (
New Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao (
"It is the same as diplomacy. No drastic changes will be made if there is no need for them," Tien said.
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