Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) was warmly welcomed by residents of Tainan and politicians of all stripes during an inspection trip to Tainan County and City yesterday.
The visit came one day after the Cabinet agreed to merge the two administrative districts into a municipality.
“I especially wanted to thank Premier Liu as he made the last push to make our goal of merging Tainan County and Tainan City possible,” Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) said.
A Cabinet meeting called by Liu on Monday approved the Tainan proposal, which had been unresolved following an initial review by a commission of 10 officials and 15 academics.
“When I heard our application was approved, my reaction was reminiscent of how, when I was a lawyer, I heard that Liu, who was then the minister of transportation and communications, agreed to the construction of the Taiwan High Speed Rail,” Hsu said.
Liu said Tainan had occupied an important position in Taiwan from the very beginning, adding: “The Executive Yuan was just returning it to its original status.”
Liu and Cabinet officials visited Tainan County and Tainan City to inspect flooding construction work ahead of the typhoon season.
In other news, Central Personnel Administration Secretary-General Chang Nien-chung (張念中) told a press conference yesterday that the administration was considering setting a ceiling on the size of local governments to bring budgets under control.
In accordance with the Local Government Act (地方制度法), a municipal city is allowed to have a maximum of 15,400 employees in its government, several thousands more than the number of staff in a county or city government.
Meanwhile, Liu said that the Ministry of the Interior on Monday designated the Taikiang Black Strait Park (台江黑水溝公園), located in Tainan County and City, as the country’s eighth natural park.
The park encompasses the Black-Faced Spoonbill Conservation District (黑面琵鷺保護區), the Cigu Lagoon Wetland (七股潟湖), Luerhmen (鹿耳門) and the public-owned land between Yanshuei River (鹽水溪) and the Tsengwen River (曾文溪).
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS