Senior DPP lawmaker Chang Chun-hung (張俊宏), a likely candidate for Examination Yuan president, yesterday threw his weight behind fellow lawmaker Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) for the post.
Chang denied interest in the job and said that, if he were awarded the job, he fears he would be criticized for his involvement in an extramarital relationship.
The four-term lawmaker painted his marred marriage as a "tragic" product of history and expressed his desire to dodge any role that may subject his private life to public scrutiny.
"I would give Yao my whole-hearted support to head the Examination Yuan," Chang told reporters during an afternoon news conference. "I'm not interested in the position."
Sources close to President Chen Shui-bian (
It is up to the president to name the candidate, who must then be confirmed by the legislature before taking office. Chen is expected to announce his choice later this month.
Chang, who was jailed for eight years for taking part in an anti-government movement in the 1980s, allegedly asked the president to drop him from the list of potential candidates.
He said the imprisonment deeply wounded his relationship with his lawmaker wife, Hsu Jung-shu (
Chang, 64, who has been separated from Hsu for years, admitted to seeing a girlfriend, surnamed Lin.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
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