The Presidential Office released a list of 71 non-paid presidential advisers yesterday, including 13 senior presidential advisers and 58 national policy advisers. Among them, more than 40 are former politicians, six are from the cultural or charity sector and eight are educators.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) said the selection process began in September and the candidates were recommended by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄).
After “careful discussion,” Ma approved the list yesterday, Chan said.
Chan said the advisers “fully represent Taiwan’s diversity” and “reflect the president’s wish to listen to voices from all walks of society” since they come from different regions and specialties.
The choice to use only non-paid advisers indicated Ma’s effort to reform, he said. Taking into consideration the government’s strained financial situation, Chan said, the Presidential Office has forfeited the NT$61 million (US$2 million) budget earmarked for hiring presidential advisers and selected advisers who were willing to work for free.
The ultimate goal is to amend the Organic Act of the Presidential Office (總統府組織法) to scrap paid presidential advisers, he said.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said some candidates had turned down the offer on the grounds that they had more freedom to contribute to society independently.
Hawang Shiow-duan (黃秀端), a political science professor at Soochow University, expressed disappointment at the list, which she said appeared to be a reward list for vocal supporters of Ma.
Although it is understandable that Ma would use the positions to reward his supporters, he should have appointed people with better qualifications, she said.
Hawang criticized the lack of economists and financial experts, saying it ran counter to the government’s focus on the economy.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said separately that Ma had restored a system frowned upon by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) during former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration and that the DPP government’s fiscal budget for advisers had been consistently blocked by KMT legislators.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it