Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) yesterday kept mum about any possible successor to Lin Yi-shih (林益世), who resigned as secretary-general of the Executive Yuan late on Thursday night amid allegations of corruption.
Former department of health minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川), a close confidant of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), was rumored to be a possible candidate, but offered no comment on the speculation.
Yeh said that he “was not aware of that [speculation]” in a telephone interview.
Earlier yesterday, Chen said he has not yet started to consider possible successors to Lin, but added that he has two criteria: that the chief staff shall be good at dealing with difficulties and atcommunicating with people.
Lin, 44, was a four-term lawmaker who lost his re-election bid in January this year.
The premier said Lin was appointed secretary-general because both President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and him considered Lin met the qualifications.
Chen dismissed media speculation that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Lin Join-sane (林中森), who served as secretary-general of the Executive Yuan when Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) was premier, or Liao Liou-yi (廖了以), president of Association of East Asian Relations, who served as secretary-general of the KMT and the Presidential Office, were possible replacements.
Lin resigned two days after he was accused by Chen Chi-hsiang (陳啟祥) — the owner of Kaohsiung-based Ti Yung Co — of taking a bribe of NT$63 million (US$2.1 million) from the company in 2010 and of demanding NT$83 million in February and March when his company was to renew procurement contracts with two of China Steel Corp’s subsidiaries.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
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