Two non-institutional bodies set up under the Presidential Office will be disbanded tomorrow, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) announced yesterday.
The Human Rights Advisory Committee and the Science and Technology Advisory Committee, both chaired by Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), will stop functioning to show the Presidential Office's respect for the legislature, as well as its sincerity in maintaining a harmonious relationship with opposition parties, Chen said.
However, the Presidential Office would continue to solicit the opinions of committee members whenever their expertise is required, Chen said at the Presidential Office, where the two committees' 39 members attended a farewell lunch hosted by Chen and Lu yesterday afternoon.
Dissolved
The Legislative Yuan passed a resolution in January requesting that six non-institutional bodies set up under the Presidential Office be dissolved.
They are the Human Rights Advisory Committee, the Science and Technology Advisory Committee, the preparatory group for the national human rights memorial museum, the Gender Mainstreaming Advisory Panel, the Constitutional Re-engineering Office and the Youth Corps.
Lu had previously argued that the Presidential Office was authorized to form the Human Rights Advisory Committee under the Standard Organic Law of Central Government Agencies (
She also argued that no additional legislation had been needed for the establishment of the Science and Technology Advisory Committee, because Chen in August 2000 approved an administrative decree authorizing its creation.
Lu yesterday said that, despite claims that the committee wasted taxpayers' money, all of the committee members had provided their services free of charge.
Looking ahead
She said that although the two committees would soon stop functioning, this marked the beginning of another stage.
"There is still a long way to go before we put into practice the president's promise of improving the country based on human rights and technology," she said.
"Technology is developing at a breakneck speed. We may be the hare in the race today, but the turtle may be gradually catching up if we slack off," Lu said.
The two committees' coordinators, Fort Liao (
The books, Building the Nation on Human Rights and Building the Nation on Technology, chronicle the two committees' achievements since their formation.
The Human Rights Advisory Committee was established in October 2000, and the Science and Technology Advisory Committee in November 2000.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS