Lin Join-sane (林中森) became the secretary-general of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday, vowing to complete the missions set forth by the party and party chairman. Lin said he hoped to reconcile party affairs with public opinion, so that the voices of people at the grassroots level could get through to the government via the party.
Lin, 67, previously served as Kaohsiung deputy mayor, deputy minister of the interior and Executive Yuan secretary-general. He replaces Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) as KMT secretary-general.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, was supportive of Lin, but reminded him that it was a “tough job” and that he needed to be mentally prepared for it. Ma said the public has seen the party engage in many substantive reforms, but feels they are insufficient.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“We hope there will be more reform so that the grand old party can have a new look in its centennial year,” Ma said. “Lin is good at coordinating. His low-key style always enables him to complete his mission.”
He also praised Lin as someone well-versed in a wide range of fields, from relations between the central and local governments to planning and construction, and from social welfare to national parks.
The president commended the Liao for a job well done, saying that he had reluctantly accepted Liao’s request to resign because he had repeatedly asked for more time with his 98-year-old mother.
Liao would not confirm -reports that he will become the head of the Association of East Asian Relations, which handles Taiwan’s relations with Japan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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