Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC) Minister Chu Chin-peng (朱景鵬) has offered to resign amid speculation that he was frustrated over slow progress on legislative review of bills regarding government restructuring.
Chu downplayed the speculation in a telephone interview, saying he has long planned to return to academia in January next year.
Chu said he had expressed his intention to resign to Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) earlier this year when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) formed the Cabinet ahead of his May 20 inauguration for a second term, but was told to stay on until the end of this year.
“I decided to leave earlier to give my successor more time to resolve remaining issues concerning government restructuring in the next legislative session,” Chu said.
Chu said he submitted his resignation letter to Chen after the legislative session ended on Friday. It has not been approved yet.
Several controversial issues left the first session of the eighth legislature mired in confrontation so that during the four-month-long session, lawmakers completed reviews of only 11 pieces of legislation, two audits of final accounts, an internal legislative regulation and the credentials of three Examination Yuan members.
Under the government’s plan to streamline the Executive Yuan from 37 agencies to 29 between January this year and Dec. 31, 2014, bills governing the structure of 15 agencies were approved by the seventh legislature.
The commission initially wanted to push through the remaining 85 amendments governing structures of 14 other agencies in the recent session, but the bills were held up by other issues.
Research, Development and Evaluation Commission Deputy Minister Sung Yu-hsieh (宋餘俠) said the commission wanted the remaining bills to pass by the end of this year to allow enough time to prepare the 14 new agencies.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
RSS