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.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS