People First Party (PFP) Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) yesterday accused Minister of Transportation and Communications Kuo Yao-chi (郭瑤琪) of appointing a friend recommended by her husband to the position of secretary-general of the China Aviation Development Foundation (CADF).
Kuo denied the accusation, saying she would consult with an attorney to see if legal action should be taken against Liu.
According to Liu, Wu Cheng-chih (吳正之), the CADF's new secretary-general, has no background in aviation. Liu called on Kuo to step down if any connection were found between Wu and her husband.
"[Wu] is not a friend of mine or of my husband," Kuo said in response. "And he is not related to any political heavyweights, either."
Kuo said Wu was recommended by a friend of hers. All the candidates for the position, she said, were judged according to specific criteria. The secretary-general, she said, cannot have a political background. The candidate must also have several years of administrative experience and a decent character, she said.
Wu even suggested that he be given the job on a trial basis and be replaced immediately if he proved incapable, Kuo said.
"It is inappropriate for people to speculate and to attempt to associate this matter with my husband," Kuo said.
Liu made his allegation at a legislative Transportation Committee meeting yesterday, in which Kuo was also blamed for the fact that motorists had been breaking into the Hsuehshan Tunnel, which is scheduled to open next month, then posting pictures of themselves speeding online.
Liu and other PFP legislators also criticized Kuo in a separate press conference later yesterday for allegedly interfering in the appointment of three new members to the board of China Airlines.
The positions are said to have been filled by China Airlines chairman Philip Wei (
PFP Legislator Lee Hung-chun (
"Kuo and Chiang intended to authorize Wan Hai to have greater power to manage [China Airlines]," Lee added.
In response, Kuo said the proposal to add three new members to the board was made by Wei himself.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to