Acting Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (
Chen apologized for the social turmoil caused by the riot, and denied having intentions to run in the Kaohsiung mayoral election next year.
Some have speculated that Chen's decision to step down was part of a plan to run for mayor.
"Although I was prepared to bear any suffering as acting city mayor, the things that have happened in recent days exceeded my expectations," Chen said. "The accusation against my father hurts me very much ? my family and I would never take advantage of my position to seek profits."
Reports have speculated that Chen's father, a presidential adviser, had meddled in the importation of the Thai workers.
Chen also refuted recent reports from Chinese-language media that he intended to run for Kaohsiung Mayor next year.
"I feel very discouraged by the rumors in the media. As acting Kaohsiung City Mayor, I am only thinking about how to do a good job. The election has never entered my mind during this period," he said.
Chen announced his decision yesterday morning after the weekly city council meeting. As he read out the announcement, he sobbed and at one point couldn't speak for about a minute.
Chen confirmed that he had offered his resignation twice since the riot on Aug. 21. He first offered to quit on Aug. 28, and last Tuesday he made the offer again in writing. Both times Premier Frank Hsieh (
Chen said that when he offered his resignation to Hsieh, the premier told him that being a mayor requires "suffering," and that this is part of a mayor's responsibility.
"I apologize that the riot has caused significant social turmoil, and hope that now we can focus on examining the system for hiring foreign labor and establish an efficient political system in Taiwan," he said.
Chen declined to say whether he will stay on if Hsieh rejects his resignation, and refused to answer any further questions from reporters after the announcement.
The premier, commenting on the resignations of Council of Labor Affairs Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊) and Chen Chi-mai, yesterday said that he is afraid that government officials may start to be afraid to dare to do things for the public out of fear of making a mistake.
"We should not immediately ask an official to step down if there is a mistake," the premier said." Instead, we should figure out what went wrong and make sure the same mistake is not repeated. Otherwise, the problem will always be there."
Hsieh again said that Chen Chu and Chen Chi-mai's resignations are still lying on his table and he will not make a decision until the result of an investigation into the riot is available.
"When a government official, like Chen Chu, has done a lot of things for us and has been lauded for that, shouldn't we cherish and do our best to keep this official in office?" Hsieh said.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Su Tseng-cheng (
"The Executive Yuan and the law enforcement agency are now investigating the case of the Thai laborers and the DPP thinks the key to the incident is to discover the problems and solve them quickly," Su said.
Additional reporting by Jewel Huang
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS