President Chen Shui-bian (
The eight nominees are to succeed the eight grand justices whose terms of office will expire at the end of September, including Judicial Yuan President Weng Yueh-sheng (
terms of office
According to the additional articles of the Constitution, eight grand justices, including the president and the vice president of Judicial Yuan who were appointed in 2003, shall serve four years, while the rest of the grand justices shall serve eight years.
The Chinese-language China Times yesterday quoted an anonymous source as saying that incumbent Grand Justice Lai Ying-jaw (
Wang yesterday refused to comment on the rumored candidates for the Judicial Yuan's president and vice president, but said the next president of the Judicial Yuan would be selected from the seven incumbent grand justices whose terms of office expire in 2011. The next vice president would be one of the eight new nominees, according to Wang.
hasty
A group of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday criticized Chen for not giving the legislature sufficient time to review his nominees of grand justices.
KMT legislative caucus whip Hsu Shao-ping (
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (
new session
"I had heard that the KMT would try to put off the review process as long as possible because they wanted to reserve the nomination for KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Later yesterday, after having a cross-party negotiation meeting, Wang said that legislative caucus whips across party lines had all agreed to review the president's nominees on Sept. 7 when the new session starts.
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