Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) was sworn in at the Presidential Office yesterday and is expected to depart for the US on Saturday.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who presided over the oath-taking, did not exchange words with King, a long-term aide and a key figure in his re-election campaign last year.
The president appointed King, 56, to the position in late September, arousing concerns about King’s lack of foreign affairs experience. King succeeds Jason Yuan (袁健生), who returned to Taipei in August to lead the National Security Council.
Photo: CNA
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉) and Council of Labor Affairs Deputy Minister Hau Feng-ming (郝鳳鳴) also took the oath of office at yesterday’s ceremony and shook hands with Ma.
King is expected to meet with leaders of overseas Taiwanese communities in Washington on Sunday.
King will return to Taipei on Dec. 26 to give a briefing at the legislature, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
King made a 13-day trip to the US last year as Ma’s top campaign adviser to boost the president’s overseas support and facilitate communication with the US administration.
King majored in journalism at National Chengchi University and earned a doctorate from the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. He served as Taipei’s deputy mayor from 2004 to 2006, when Ma was mayor.
A year after Ma was first elected president in 2008, King was appointed KMT secretary-general by Ma, who also serves as party chairman.
Additional reporting by CNA
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
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.