The Executive Yuan announced yesterday that former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) will serve as the new Mainland Affairs Council deputy minister, while former professional basketball star Rosa Chien (錢薇娟) will serve as the deputy minister for the Sports Affairs Council.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) called the new Cabinet as a “dumping ground for defeated lawmakers,” saying that Chien ran unsuccessfully in last month’s legislative elections as a KMT candidate, while Chang didn’t even secure the KMT’s nomination in the first place.
“This goes to show President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) arrogance — he ignores professionalism and treats government appointments as political rewards,” Pan said.
The DPP lawmaker cited other examples, such as the appointments of Chen Yi-chen (陳以真), who ran unsuccessfully as a KMT legislative candidate in Chiayi County, to head the National Youth Commission and Lin Yi-shih (林益世), who lost his re-election bid last month, to the post of the Executive Yuan secretary-general.
Other deputy minister appointments announced by the Executive Yuan included Hsu Jen-hui (徐仁輝) for the Ministry of Finance; Yeh Shin-cheng (葉欣誠) for the Environmental Protection Administration; Chou Yuan-ching (周源卿), Atomic Energy Council; Hochen Hong (賀陳弘), National Science Council; Wu Kuo-an (吳國安), Public Construction Commission; and Lee Chao-ming (李朝明) for the Council for Hakka Affairs.
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Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
Taiwan Travelogue (臺灣漫遊錄), which earlier this week became the first Taiwanese novel to win the International Booker Prize, is to be adapted into a television series through a Taiwan-Japan coproduction, producer Chang Chen-yu (張辰漁) said yesterday. Chang, a producer at World Softest Production Film Co, wrote on Facebook that the company had been searching for projects with international appeal that retain a strong Taiwanese identity after colleagues and Japanese partners strongly recommended the novel. After reading the book, Chang said he immediately decided to pursue the screen rights. “A great story has the power to transcend time and borders, and connect countless people,”