Although Yang Teh-chih (
A KMT member, the 62-year-old Ilan native stayed in his current position after the transfer of power in 2000 and was reappointed last February during the first Cabinet reshuffle of the DPP-led government.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
The KMT suspended Yang for violating a party policy that prohibits members from assuming political appointments in the DPP government.
The KMT has also suspended the party rights of Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) and Liu San-chi (劉三琦), head of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
Caught between his own party and the DPP-led government, Yang has been given a hard time by the legislature.
The hike in the monthly allowance for retired veterans is a good example. While Yang wanted to increase the amount from NT$13,100 per person to NT$13,550, the DPP's tiny TSU ally opposed the plan. The TSU said the government should not favor retired soldiers over other groups, especially at a time when the nation is experiencing financial trouble.
The TSU joined forces with the DPP to boycott the proposal and the commission's annual budget. With the help of his own party and the PFP the plan was eventually approved by the legislature.
Yang, however, did not win the support of the opposition camp easily. Opposition lawmakers once called him a "KMT traitor who conspires with the DPP at the expense of the interests of veterans."
Fighting media speculation that the Cabinet would be reshuffled after the Lunar New Year, Premier Yu Shyi-kun confirmed on Saturday that Yang had expressed his desire to quit for health reasons.
Yang issued a press release later that day saying that he wanted to quit because of health problems and that he has completed the tasks to which he had been assigned.
Insisting that national stability is paramount, Yu turned down Yang's request to resign and said that he would like all government officials to stick to their post.
Although the premier refused to let Yang go, sources in the Cabinet told the Taipei Times yesterday that Yu might have to let go of Yang if the Presidential Office insists on meddling in the Cabinet's authority and forcing Yang to leave.
"As far as I know, an influential individual at the Presidential Office wants him [Yang] to go," the source said. "As Yang has already tendered his resignation, it's now up to the Presidential Office to decide whether to keep him."
The Presidential Office has been planning to let civilians, rather than soldiers, head the Veterans Affairs Commission as well as the armed forces.
Yang is a former commander of the military's combined logistics command (
Commenting on the speculation, Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒), a political observer and editor in chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine, said that Chien would be a better choice.
"The government should seriously consider neutralizing the commission, which has long been manipulated by the KMT as a voting machine," Chin said.
Wu Tung-yeh (
"The DPP-led government should realize that it's the global trend to have civilians instead of soldiers lead a nation's armed forces. It may take some time to reach that goal, but it's the way to go," he said.
According to a senior defense reporter who requested anonymity, Yang's health was once a concern, but that is no longer the case.
"He is in perfect shape and still enjoys hiking and mountain climbing," he said.
Yang was hospitalized last November after receiving improper medication from a Chinese-medicine doctor for shoulder pain. The medication reportedly contained steroids.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS