In a bid to woo youth support, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
In a speech to be delivered at the opening of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) alliance's campaign office in Tainan County, Lien spells out the three minimum qualifications needed for the job of his proposed minister of youth
In the drafted speech, a copy of which was faxed to reporters yesterday, Lien says the person to head the ministry of youth must be under 39 years of age, computer-savvy and know how to play computer games.
Noting the importance of cyber know-how in the new economic era, Lien says that he would attach weight to the recruitment of young talent if he wins the presidency.
Lien and his People First Party (PFP) counterpart James Soong (
Lien also says that, if elected, government officials must first past tests to prove that they are computer-savvy before they qualify to become members of his future cabinet.
Stating the importance of educational issue to the young adults, Lien in his draft speech criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration's educational policy and said he would call for a referendum on educational reform on March 20 next year.
"On March 20, we want the public to make a decision on whether they would like to accept the modified old-style practice of joint exams or the current Diversified Enrollment Scheme (多元入學方案)," says Lien in the draft speech, adding that he is willing to stage a debate with Chen on issues concerning educational reform.
Lien is expected also to restate his vision for district administrative government, proposing to integrate Kaohsiung and Tainan Cities, Kaohsiung and Tainan Counties and neighboring Pintung County and such into what he called a Southern District Administrative Government.
The plan was in line with Lien's call for restructuring the country's administrative districts. Lien in previous weeks had called for the holding of referendums on the merger of Taipei City, Taipei County and their neighboring administrative regions as well as the merging of five cities and counties in central Taiwan.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its