Premier Frank Hsieh (
Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that in reviewing accountability for the recent water-supply problem in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, the premier had expressed the hope of soliciting a water-supply expert to replace Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘), vice economic affairs minister who served as convener of the ministry's water resources screening committee and water resources coordination committee before being demoted on Wednesday over the Taoyuan water-supply problem.
After Typhoon Matsa battered Taiwan earlier this month, bringing strong winds and torrential rains, water supply in Taoyuan was disrupted because of the high turbidity in the Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) -- the county's main water source. The water supply in the northern part of the county was not fully restored until Aug. 13.
Cho said the premier has talked with nearly 10 former officials, hydraulic-power academics and experts on how to solve the persistent water problems in Taoyuan County, although he has yet to inquire about their intention to serve as vice economic affairs minister.
Cho also said that during a regular weekly meeting with President Chen Shui-bian (
The premier had recently pointed out that none of the three sitting vice economic affairs ministers are water experts, and that their "jobs might have to be adjusted."
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
Deliveries of delayed F-16V jets are expected to begin in September, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said today, after senior defense officials visited the US last week. The US in 2019 approved a US$8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the nation’s F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets, but the project has been hit by issues including software problems. Koo appeared today before a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which is discussing different versions of the special defense budget this week. The committee is questioning officials today,
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