Freshman DPP Legislator-at-large Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) will take over the role of Cabinet secretary-general from Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), who is running for Taipei mayor at the end of the year, Premier Yu Shyi-kun confirmed yesterday
"Since the secretary-general is to leave the Cabinet soon, the Cabinet has decided to appoint DPP legislator-at-large and the party's veteran Central Standing Committee member, Liu Shih-fang, to be his successor," Yu told reporters before he delivered a speech on the Cabinet's six-year national development project at the Taipei Metro (
At 42, Liu will become the youngest-ever Cabinet secretary-general and the first woman to take the position. Lee is expected to step down from his post on June 25 when the DPP is scheduled to announce his candidacy.
Yu yesterday dismissed speculation that he appointed Liu, a member of the party's New Tide faction, to reduce factional discord within the DPP.
"Her appointment doesn't have anything to do with factional balance or inequality," Yu said.
Both President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Yu are from the party's Justice Alliance faction, and some of the factions have grumbled that they are underrepresented in important government positions.
Although Liu was not the only possible candidate at the beginning, Yu said, she remained at the top of the list.
"She eventually emerged as the final candidate because she not only is a veteran Central Standing Committee member but is also a lawmaker," Yu said.
"In addition, she has extensive administrative experience and is an outstanding woman."
Liu, who holds a masters degree in environmental engineering from Oklahoma University, once served as the director of the Bureau of Environmental Protection at the Taipei City Government when Chen was mayor.
She later took up the post of deputy commissioner of Taichung County.
Accompanied by DPP legislative whips Wang Tuoh (王拓), Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) and Hsu Jung-shu (許榮淑), Liu told a press conference held at the Legislative Yuan yesterday afternoon that she will accept the new challenge and strive to do a good job.
"The new job marks a new beginning for my political career and means new responsibility," she said.
The three legislative whips all voiced their support for Liu.
"I'm happy that the Cabinet has found such an outstanding talent to join its team," Ker said.
Wang said that he expects to see Liu do a better job than Lee.
"I believe she'll outshine her predecessor if she can make good use of her feminine features, such as sensitivity, gentility and keenness," he said.
Hsu, who is the first woman DPP legislator to assume the post of the legislative secretary-general, said that she has total confidence in Liu.
"As an up-and-coming modern woman, she'll definitely make an excellent Cabinet secretary-general," she said.
Liu's legislative position will be filled by former DPP legislator Lin Chung-cheng (
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS