A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker yesterday joined opposition parties in demanding the resignations of Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) and Water Resources Agency Director-General Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢) for what he called negligence in fixing the nation's flooding problems.
DPP Legislator Tu Wen-ching (
Chen said that some officials would have to step down to shoulder responsibility for the unsolved water-supply problems plaguing Taoyuan County.
Tu made the remark yesterday morning before listening to briefings by Ho and Chen Shen-hsien, who were invited by the DPP caucus to speak about the government's proposed eight-year, NT$80 billion flood-control project.
The DPP hopes to call a special legislative session to pass the flood-control bill, as well as five other bills the party deems to be urgent.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Tu said that Ho and Chen Shen-hsien have showed little concern for the flooding problem in his constituency of Miaoli County.
"One segment of the embankment along Ta-an River collapsed last year, and it has not yet been fixed. I have no idea what you have been doing," Tu said.
While residents of Taoyuan Countyintermittently do not have water, Tu said that many people in his constituency do not have any tap water whatsoever.
Before Ho and Chen Shen-hsien could respond or start their briefings, Tu stormed out of the room.
Taoyuan prosecutors have launched an investigation into whether corruption was involved in the construction of the pumping station and the cleaning of the reservoir.
The NT$100 million (US$3.14 million) pumping station was built last September to ensure normal water supplies during post-typhoon periods. Construction was completed in May.
Prosecutors have said that pumping machines breaking down led directly to the current water-supply problems in southern Taoyuan County.
Opposition legislative caucuses yesterday reiterated their calls for Ho's resignation.
Saying that "a wrongheaded government policy is worse than corruption," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Tsai Chin-lung (
Sun Ta-chien (
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS