Government Information Office (GIO) head Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday resigned from his post and threw his hat into the ring for the year-end Taichung City mayoral race.
"I've chosen to run in Taichung City not only because my feelings for the city run deep, but also because I've seen how much Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) did for Kaohsiung City," Lin said, noting the need to boost Taichung City's public construction projects.
Although Lin handed his letter of resignation to the premier yesterday, Hsieh has yet to let Lin go, citing the need to think through possible candidates for the GIO position. Lin indicated that in the meantime, he would not be proposing any new policies.
While Lin's switch to local politics had been touted for some time, his resignation came as something of a surprise. His decision to run had not been expected until mid-March. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) does not start taking names for the primaries leading up to the mayoral race until March 28.
In a bid to secure the 2008 presidential election, the DPP has set its sights on the upcoming mayoral and county commissioner elections. Lin is not the only Cabinet official slated to run for a local elected office. Council of Hakka Affairs Chairman Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) is expected to run for Taipei County Commissioner, while Council of Labor Affairs Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊) has been touted as a candidate for Kaohsiung City Mayor. Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) is also firming as a candidate for Taichung County Commissioner. Former Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) also announced plans to run for Ilan County commissioner in January.
Lin, who was born in Taipei City, yesterday responded to accusations that he was a carpetbagger, saying that "a great city should welcome new talent."
"Without burdens, one can push for change with resolution," Lin said, saying the crux of the election would be whether he could propose constructive policies.
Lin will have to defeat popular incumbent Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) mayor Jason Hu (
The premier yesterday supported Lin's resignation.
"He [Lin] told me that since he decided to run in the year-end city mayor election, he does not want to cause any unnecessary misunderstanding by hanging on to his position," Hsieh told the plenary legislative session yesterday morning.
Hsieh dismissed talk that Lin's resignation was made to offset his recent questionable move to visit an underground radio station.
"Although his visit was indeed debatable, I don't think it is serious enough for him to resign," Hsieh said. "However, I thought it was a responsible move for him to offer his resignation." Hsieh revealed that he hopes to find Lin's successor before March 15.
Lin also dismissed media speculation that the purpose of his trip to Japan is to arrange first lady Wu Shu-jen's (吳淑珍) planned visit there in May for Expo 2005, which will be held in Aichi Prefecture. Lin left for Japan yesterday afternoon.
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling
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