A group of professors judged the performance of Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
The survey was conducted by the Humanistic Science, Cultural and Educational Foundation of 30 professors in the fields of finance, law and social science.
The professors discussed with scholars such issues as the performance of the government and the style of President Chen's administration.
Chen Ding-nan had the highest score of 65.9 points out of 100, followed by Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
Council of Economic Planning and Development Chairman Lin Hsin-i (
Also in the bottom five were Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (
On the performance of President Chen after six months, one year, two years and three years in office, the scores were 33.4, 46.4, 53.3 and 51.4 points, respectively.
On the overall performance of Chen's administration, the approval rating was 38.8, 45, 54.17 and 54.14 points over these time periods.
The scholars also assessed President Chen in seven major categories: vision (52.46), communication skills and accepting advice (50.93), taking responsibility and admitting mistakes (49.69), planning and implementation (49.07), leadership (48.62), authorization and trust in his subordinates (48.48), and honesty and trust (46.24).
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. The single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 400,000 and 800,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, saber-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. A single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 800,000 to 400,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, sabre-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling