The new chairman of the National Science Council (NSC), Weng Cheng-I (翁政義), yesterday apologized profusely to legislators for his ignorance of the council's ongoing activities during his first policy report to the Legislative Yuan.
The former president of a well-known university was chided by lawmakers who likened him to a student who had failed his examinations.
Being ignorant of the council's affairs, Weng was sometimes unable to reply to questions at the meeting. However, NSC Vice Chairman, Steve Hsieh (薛香川), who has held the position for many years, was able to answer most of the difficult questions yesterday.
"I feel so sorry because I cannot answer the questions," Weng said, adding that yesterday was his third day as NSC chairman.
Weng apparently expected that his explanation would exempt him from being grilled by legislators.
"You look like a student who's failing his examinations," said KMT legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中).
"You may not have had enough time to prepare for the question and answer session, but at least you should earn support from your team members first and fight here with them," said KMT legislator Lee Sen-zong (李顯榮)
Legislators said that Weng should had not be exempted from the difficult learning curve required to be a Cabinet-level committee head, even though he had accepted the nomination at the last minute after a political conflict occurred within the DPP.
Last Friday, an anxious Chen Shui-bian (
During the questioning, it became apparent that inadequate support from staff appointed by legislators was going to be a problem.
Taking satellite-related projects as examples, the DDP's Chen Chung-shin (陳忠信) said that details regarding two satellites, ROCSAT-1 and ROCSAT-3, described in the reports were out-of-date.
"It's difficult for me to believe that NSC officials would take such an arbitrary attitude toward the Legislative Yuan," Chen said, adding that NSC officials had previously concealed up-to-date information from outsiders.
Experienced public administration experts said that Weng's problem with the existing bureaucracy would not be the only one for the new government.
"If he doesn't establish a mechanism of mutual trust with his staff, Weng will be dominated by technical bureaucrats," Ricky Wu (吳定), a public administration professor at National Chengchi University, said yesterday.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS