Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
The legislature's Procedure Committee yesterday set the agenda and the schedule for reviewing and voting on President Chen Shui-bian's (
Lin, now the deputy auditor-general of the ministry, was named to replace the 80-year-old Su Chen-ping (蘇振平), who had served in the position for three six-year terms since 1989.
Lawmakers will have a plenary question-and-answer session with Lin tomorrow and a confirmation vote is scheduled for Friday.
In related developments, negotiations on a schedule for screening and voting on nominees for the Council of Grand Justices remained stalled because of objections from the People First Party (PFP).
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
The Democratic Progressive Party has claimed that the PFP was withholding its confirmation of grand justice nominees as a bargaining chip in separate negotiations over Chen's new nominees for Control Yuan members, an allegation that the PFP has denied.
It was rumored that the PFP had recommended two of its legislators -- Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) and Feng Ting-kuo (馮定國) -- as well as party Deputy Secretary-General Ma Chieh-ming (馬傑明) for inclusion in the president's Control Yuan nomination list.
Legislative Vice Speaker Chung Jung-chi (
Wang said that the legislature could handle confirmation hearings for Control Yuan members and for grand justices at the same time.
In response, Deputy Presidential Office Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (
As for the president's choice for Control Yuan members, Cho said that Chen would take different opinions into consideration and decide on the matter as soon as possible.
Chen has nominated incumbent Grand Justice Lai Ying-jaw (
Eight candidates have also been selected for grand justice positions. They are Yeh Sai-ying (
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are