Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday that Public Construction Deputy Minister Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) will assume the role of acting commissioner for Yunlin County until a new commissioner is elected in December, while Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), who officially resigned his post, will announce his candidacy for Taichung County commissionership on Monday.
"Lee is now the most appropriate candidate for the position and we will discuss more details with him soon," Hsieh said. "As for Chiu, we have received his official resignation and will accept it, as he is campaigning for the year-end elections."
Hsieh made the remarks at the legislature yesterday while answering questions from People First Party (PFP) Legislators Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和) and Cheng Chin-ling (鄭金玲).
Chiu himself told reporters that he will call a press conference Monday morning to announce his plans to run in the year-end county commissioner elections.
Chiu said of a rumor that Ketagalan Institute vice president You Ying-lung (游盈隆) will take over his position as MAC vice chairman that the final decision will be up to his superiors -- President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Hsieh and MAC Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
In addition to questions about the Cabinet, the PFP lawmakers also asked the premier about details of the March 26 rally against the Chinese government's of the "Anti-Secession" law.
Asked if he would participate in the rally, the premier was evasive and side-stepped a question whether it is proper for some officials, who are in charge of public safety, to join the rally. Hieh also said he would announce whether he will participate in the demonstration on Monday.
"I will follow the president's lead. That means, if the president joins the rally, I will too," Hsieh said.
Meanwhile, Hsieh also said that the rally has nothing to do with political disputes. It will be an event for the public to vent their anger toward the Anti-Secession law. As a result, people with differing political affiliations will be welcome at the rally.
The premier said that the government never changed the cross-strait relationship. It was the Chinese government which did so.
"They (Chinese officials) decided to change current status quo and endanger the peace in the Taiwan Strait. Of course, Taiwanese people have the right to show their anger because their rights were ignored," Hsieh said. "Only Taiwanese people have the right to decide their future."
Hsieh also promised that during his term as premier, he will not endorse or support the making of a new constitution or change the name of the country.
"However, if the majority of Taiwanese people decide to [to amend or make a new Constitution], government leaders are supposed to respect that decision," Hsieh said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS