Department of Health (DOH) Director-General Lee Ming-liang (李明亮) yesterday revealed some of the candidates to take over his position after the Executive Yuan approved his resignation on Friday.
According to Lee, DOH Deputy Director-General Twu Shiing-jer (
Local Chinese-language media have also suggested that former minister without portfolio Chen Jin-huang (
Twu, who only took on his position two months ago, is regarded as the leading candidate because of his close ties to the president.
Since Lee's resignation will take effect on the same day the government raises the amount people pay into the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, and the first day of registration for the next session of the Legislative Yuan, opposition lawmakers yesterday criticized him for trying to dodge his responsibilities.
"If Lee leaves office on the same day the new scheme [to raise NHI payments] starts, who should be responsible for the results of the new policy?" PFP Legislator Lin Hui-kuan (
Lin also accused Lee of "trying to evade lawmakers' criticism and supervision [of the new NHI payment scheme] because he will leave office on the day when a new legislative session starts."
In response, Lee said he had not chosen to resign suddenly but that it had been an "ongoing process" since he first mentioned his intention to resign in February.
"The policies and directions of the rise in NHI payments has been set so that whoever takes over the post will not be confused," Lee said.
Lee was also criticized for a remark he made on Saturday, in which he said: "The hardest thing for me in being a government official is that I cannot tell the truth and I cannot lie either."
Shen said that someone with a clear conscience should speak the truth before leaving office.
"Since Lee enjoys a good reputation in society, he cannot leave when so many details [regarding NHI reform] have been left unresolved," Shen said.
In response, Lee told reporters yesterday, "What I meant was that I could not tell [the truth] when the policies had not been decided yet. As for the lies, I am just saying that I am not someone who lies."
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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