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.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
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