Lawmakers grilled Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
People First Party legislator Shen Chin-hwei (
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (
Minister of Communication and Transportation Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) said that all telephone services including mobile phones and fixed-line communications should be back online by Sept. 28.
Yeh also promised that mass transportation, including the MRT, would resume within two weeks.
New Party legislator Levi Ying (營志宏) asked why the Cabinet had treated with favor the president's son-in-law-to-be, Chao Chien-min (趙建銘), who now lives with the first daughter at the president's former residence. The military had dispatched officers to put sand bags in front of Chao's house during the flooding.
Ying said the Cabinet's move was unfair to Chao's neighbors.
There was flooding in the neighborhood, but no serious damage occurred.
The premier said "the Cabinet never gave the order in oral or written form" and that he wasn't aware of any such order.
Ying said that eight soldiers and two military trucks had come to Chao's aid, adding that "if the Cabinet didn't give the order, it must have been the military trying to kiss up [to the president]."
On the WTO issue, Chang said that "under the WTO framework, government-to-government negotiations between Taiwan and China may not necessarily be forged, but [Taiwan] would like to pursue a stable trade interaction across the Strait.
"Taiwan is willing to resume a dialogue with China in dealing with cross-strait negotiations regarding investment agreements or any peace pacts," Chang said.
Mainland Affairs Council Chair-woman Tsai Ing-wen (
Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
Chen had previously said that he regarded campaign materials such as cigarette lighters or caps as vote-buying bribes, which has stirred a controversy among candidates. Chen said that he had asked prosecutors to hold discussions and set up appropriate rules.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
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‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)