After nearly five months without a deputy, the Mainland Affairs Council was finally able to fill the position this past week with Vice Chairman David Huang (
While Huang has spent most of his career in academic circles, his family is no stranger to politics. He is perhaps better known as the son of former Central Election Commission Chairman Huang Shih-cheng (
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
"The words of advice my father gave to me [about the position] were: Do not be late, be honest, and be cooperative when possible," Huang said.
Huang's sister, Lisa Huang (黃文玲), is also involved in local politics, running in Chuanghua county for a seat in the legislature in the December elections as an independent. Huang has no party affiliations and expressed no desire to join one of the major parties.
In academia, David Huang is also known for his research on the European Union, referendum procedures and the British electoral processes. Given the emphasis generally placed on ties with the US in cross-strait efforts, Huang is generally considered to be one of the few researchers with an expertise on Europe.
His educational credentials are impeccable, with degrees in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Oxford.
He has also held various teaching and research positions in Europe and Japan and has been published in academic journals.
His former co-workers at the Academia Sinica Institute of European and American Studies are also respectful of his Huang. His colleagues told the Taipei Times that his research was very "solid" and that his ability to articulate ideas in both Chinese and English made him a good choice for the position.
However, asked whether he had ever visited China or had any concrete contact with Chinese officials, Huang said that he'd only been to China once in the late 1990s. Huang had apparently suffered from indigestion during the trip and was treated at a local hospital.
Council Chairman Joseph Wu (
Huang joins the council just months after announcements of possible revisions to its structure. The reorganization is expected to dissolve the council and erect a new government agency as part of the Premier's Office.
The revisions would be an influential factor in the nation's cross-strait policymaking mechanism and although it has been called a bureaucratic "upgrade" for the council, the council's future remains uncertain.
"I know what my profession is -- this is just a job change," Huang said.
He also said that his focus is still research and teaching, but taking on a government position was his duty as a citizen of a democratic society.
"I will do what I can in my capacity. Time is not a problem for me," he said.
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 first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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