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.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data