Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) yesterday shrugged off rumors that he has been tapped to serve as the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) secretary-general, saying that taking up a position inside a political party is not part of his life plan.
Chen made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee in Taipei in response to reporters’ questions over whether KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) has contacted him about the secretary-general post.
“I have yet to receive Hung’s telephone call, but it is my plan to simply be a happy citizen after I retire from public service,” said Chen, a KMT member who has served as the Executive Yuan’s secretary-general, deputy mayor of Taipei and deputy head of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
When pressed on the issue, Chen said it is not part of his life plan to assume an administrative role inside the party.
Speculation has been rising about the lineup of Hung’s future party cadres after she held off announcing some of the names of the party’s key officials.
So far, only 11 names have been made public, seven of whom have been designated as KMT deputy secretaries-general, including former KMT legislators Lin Kuo-cheng (林國正) and Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), former Pingtung County Councilor Yeh Shou-shan (葉壽山), Taitung County Council Speaker Rao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴), Chiayi City Council Speaker Hsiao Shu-li (蕭淑麗), KMT deputy caucus whip Lin Te-fu (林德福) and National Development Council special assistant Chang Ya-ping (張雅屏).
Chang has also been appointed to head the KMT’s Organization and Development Committee.
In addition, Taipei City Councilor Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) is to serve as the deputy director-general of the party’s Culture and Communication Committee, while Junior Chamber International Executive Vice President Sean Chang (張淵翔) — the son of former Keelung mayor Chang Tung-jung (張通榮) — is to take the helm of the KMT’s Youth Department.
Former director of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Government Ethics Department, Chen Hang-sheng (陳杭升), and 567 Alliance Convener Lee Fu-chuan (李福軒) have been appointed to serve as the head and deputy head of the KMT’s Administration and Management Committee respectively.
New Taipei City Councilor Chen Yi-chun (陳儀君) is designated director of the party’s Women’s Department.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
RSS