Three former legislators who lost their seats in last month's legislative elections were recruited to the Cabinet yesterday.
Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Wang Tuoh (王拓) was appointed chairman of the Council for Cultural Affairs, taking over the position that was vacated by Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠), who was elected a DPP legislator-at large last month.
Former DPP legislator Julian Kuo (郭正亮) will succeed Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), who was also elected a DPP legislator-at-large, as deputy chairman of Sports Affairs Council.
Former Council of Hakka Affairs deputy minister Chiu Yi-ying's (邱議瑩) position will be filled by former DPP legislator Peng Tien-fu (彭添富).
Government Information Office Minister Shieh Jhy-wey (
Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南), who was appointed Governor of the Central Bank of China in February 1998, has been asked by Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) to serve in the position for another five-year term, Shieh said.
Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) will move to become deputy minister of Transportation and Communications, filling the position left vacant since last May, when Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) was promoted to Executive Yuan secretary-general.
Lee's vacancy at the Justice Ministry will be filled by former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator Kuo Lin-yung (郭林勇).
Minister Without Portfolio Lin Chin-chang (
Chen Tso-chen (陳佐鎮) has been appointed deputy minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. He has previously served as director-general of the Bureau of Standards, head of the economic department at the nation's representative office in Canada and also as director of the ministry's office in central Taiwan.
Vacancies left to be filled in the Cabinet are vice chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, vice chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission and vice chairman of the Fair Trade Commission.
EXPANSIONIST: China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday. China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.” Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that
Through analyzing fossil evidence, a research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) discovered the largest endemic bird to have lived in Taiwan, naming it Pavo miejue, or extinct peafowl (滅絕孔雀). The Mikado pheasant, which is printed on the back of the NT$1,000 bank note, was previously believed to be the biggest endemic bird to Taiwan. The research team’s findings suggest that Pavo miejue lived during the Pleistocene epoch tens of thousands of years ago. It is the first endemic extinct bird species discovered and formally named in Taiwan. The study was coauthored by NTU Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修),
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
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