Minister of Transportation and Communications Kuo Yao-chi (郭瑤琪) ordered the Bureau of High Speed Rail to turn in a pre-launch testing and inspection plan within two weeks, saying she was displeased over a delay in preparation work ahead of the opening of bullet train service in October.
"I am upset because the director [of the bureau] said they have done their best," Kuo said. "They should have finished stipulating all the regulations for operation and maintenance by February, but no progress has been made."
Kuo told reporters yesterday that the ministry would not have time to improve the train's system if the bureau didn't do anything before Aug. 1, the scheduled date for pre-launch testing of the railway.
She said the ministry might consider breaking down the pre-launch tests so that different items could be reviewed at different stages.
Kuo said she did not regret the decision to put her job on the line over the start date, adding that it was a personal issue.
Last month she promised to step down if the train failed to become operational by October.
However, bureau Director Wu Fu-hsiang (
Wu reiterated that the goal of having the railway fully operational by October remained unchanged.
Wu said the foreign drivers would be able to operate the trains during the initial stage of operation once they take a license test and an orientation exam to familiarize themselves with rail conditions.
THSRC representative Ted Chia (
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
RSS