Minister Without Portfolio Chiang Been-huang (蔣丙煌), who is in charge of technology and health welfare-related affairs at the Cabinet, is to take the role left vacant by former minister of health and welfare Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達), the Executive Yuan said yesterday in a press release.
“The public has been yearning for an overhauled food safety system following the recent spate of food scares, which makes the ministry’s need for a leader specialized in food safety management even more urgent,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said in the press release.
Sun said Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) believed that desperate times call for desperate measures and decided to rise above the common conception that the ministerial position must be taken on by medical or public health experts.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“Premier Jiang is confident that the newly appointed minister will do his utmost to address the food safety problems in an effort to make the public feel at ease when choosing their foods,” Sun said.
After nearly four years at the helm of the ministry, Chiu resigned on Oct. 3 to take political responsibility for the nation’s seemingly endless series of food scares.
With a doctorate in food science from the University of Illinois in the US, Chiang has served as the dean of National Taiwan University’s Institute of Food Science and Technology as well as the College Bioresources and Agriculture department head.
Since he became a minister without portfolio in March this year, the former academic has addressed health and welfare-related affairs, including government policies on disease control, health and medicine and food safety, the press release said.
“In addition, Chiang has participated in every inter-ministerial meeting on the recent series of cooking oil scandals presided over by Jiang. He is familiar with the government’s current food safety policies and is perfectly aware of the improvements that need to be made,” the press release said.
“He is the most ideal candidate to lead the entire ministry in safeguarding people’s health,” it added.
Jiang praised Chiang’s expertise in food safety and biotechnology during a question-and-answer session at the legislature, saying that Chiang also possessed adequate knowledge of the prevention of Ebola virus infection and the priority draft bills the ministry has been pursuing.
At a press conference held to announce his new designation, Chiang said it took him nearly a week to decide whether to take the job at such a sensitive time.
“However, if my accepting the job can really help achieve something, then everything else is secondary,” Chiang said, adding that his ultimate goal was to ensure public health and give people peace of mind.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
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
RSS