Two top officials of the Presidential Office yesterday denied media reports of conflicts within the National Security Council (NSC), saying that recent personnel adjustments were designed to improve its functions.
"There is no reshuffle or reorganization going on in the NSC. Those rumors are completely without truth," NSC Secretary-General Kang Ning-hsiang (
The resignation of NSC deputy secretary general Chang Jung-feng (
Kang, accompanied by Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (
Kang said that when he read reports that NSC Deputy Secretary-General Antonio Chiang (
"Then I immediately called Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
Kang said that leaks themselves indicated there were some problems within the council that would have to be addressed.
Chiou said Kang's work was very difficult, primarily because the NSC was an old organization with special characteristics and because specious reports about it frequently surfaced in the media.
"On top of this, the NSC's annual budget is not even NT$150 million. It's a poor government agency and is even smaller than the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission," Chiou said.
Chiou and Kang once were opponents and had clashed when they were leaders of the opposition movement in the 1980s before the DPP was formed. Chiou, who then was a young democratic theorist and radical grassroots activist, attacked Kang for wanting to reform the country by joining the KMT-dominated system.
Kang mentioned the unpleasant experiences yesterday after Chiou spoke.
"I am moved to see that Chiou is defending me because he was in the past a vehement opponent and has criticized me severely over many decades," Kang said.
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
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
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