President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday promised to provide central government resources to the “regional united governance” initiative at a “consensus camp” of leaders of the nation’s three central counties and Taichung.
Leaders and high-ranking officials from Taichung, and Changhua, Nantou and Miaoli counties met in Nantou along with the president.
In her address, Tsai said the camp meant a great deal to her, as the “model of regional governance” has been one of her main policies since 2014 and a crucial component of the new administration’s governance.
Photo: Chen Feng-li, Taipei Times
“The [central Taiwan] governance platform was a pledge made by the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] during the 2014 elections, and I was happy to see its establishment by Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Changhua County Commissioner Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷),” she said.
With the addition of Nantou County Commissioner Lin Ming-chen (林明溱) and Miaoli County Commissioner Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌), both of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the model can be further improved and would be able to tackle more complex issues, Tsai added.
“This is a sign that united governance is the right direction, with cities and counties, regardless of political affiliation, sharing resources and solving problems through this platform, allowing them to push policies more effectively,” she said.
Since 2014, six primary united governance meetings have taken place and achievements have been made, including a cross-city food safety platform, the union of consumer protection lawyers’ groups and three bridges connecting Taichung and Changhua, which are under construction, she said.
“The essence of regional united governance is cooperation. For the people, the government is not divided into central and local, which must work together to provide better public services,” Tsai said. “I am here to assure you that the central government will not be absent from regional efforts in the future.”
However, Tsai said the central government’s resources are limited and it is also financially strained, “so the money needs to be used where it is most needed.”
“Instead of listing all the projects that look good on paper, focusing on certain issues and scoring substantial results would be a better strategy,” she said.
The president said that three reforms need to be carried out for national development: improving local governance and autonomy; improving local finances by reducing the differences in the nation’s financial distribution and designing a mechanism to reduce expenses while increasing income; and giving priority to cross-city governance plans and encouraging cross-city coordination.
It is only after these reforms are completed can an “effective problem-solving, need-satisfying and cooperation-based” model of governance be achieved and healthy national development supported, Tsai said.
Ninth graders were asked to define “trolling” on this year’s standardized exam, reflecting efforts to make the test better reflect real-life situations. Adjustments to this year’s Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students were revealed on Sunday, after the last cohort of students completed the test over the weekend. The Ministry of Education solicited feedback about the test from teachers, who approved of the new question in the English portion. Not only was question No. 20 “very much in line with real-life situations,” but it also used a new style in which students were asked to ascertain the correct dictionary definition based
Taiwan is on alert for monkeypox, a rare viral disease that has caused 87 infections in 11 countries over the past three weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Saturday. The WHO on Friday convened an emergency session to discuss a sudden outbreak of monkeypox in North America and Europe. Since the beginning of this month, 87 confirmed cases and 28 possible cases have been identified in 11 countries. The countries with the highest case counts are England with 29 cases, and Portugal and Spain with 23 each. Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease occurring primarily in the tropical rainforest areas
People should look out for eight signs of acute encephalitis in children and seek emergency medical treatment if they occur, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The symptoms are a body temperature of at least 41°C, impaired consciousness, excessive sleepiness, a persistent headache, vomiting, involuntary muscle twitching (myoclonic jerks), convulsions and an unsteady gait, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division. The symptoms were spelled out in the “Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Acute COVID-19 Encephalitis in Children,” drawn up by members of the Taiwan Pediatric Association
ADAPTING: The CECC said the policy change would happen this week at the earliest, while PCR testing stations would be used to diagnose people and prescribe drugs The general public would be able to use a positive rapid test result that has been confirmed by a doctor for COVID-19 diagnosis starting later this week at the soonest, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 79,441 new local infections and 53 deaths. The center on Saturday announced that it was expanding the rapid test diagnosis policy to people living in indigenous townships and outlying islands, starting today. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, yesterday said the policy might be further expanded to include “all people” this week, at the soonest. He