The Council of Maritime Affairs is scheduled to be inaugurated in Kaohsiung on Saturday, becoming the first Cabinet-level agency in the municipality, a source said yesterday.
Premier William Lai (賴清德) is scheduled to preside over the inauguration ceremony, the source said.
The council is to be the responsible authority on the use and conservation of ocean resources, as well as research and development, it said.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
The council would face multiple challenges, including regulating cross-border fishing, the source said.
Last year saw an increase in cross-border fishing, especially Chinese fishing boats near the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) which severely infringed upon the nation’s fishing rights and resources, the source said.
The Coast Guard Administration last month accused Chinese and Vietnamese ships of poaching more than15 tonnes of resources in the Dongsha Atoll National Park area, the source said.
Hydraulic engineering expert Hwung Hwung-hweng (黃煌煇) has been tapped to head the council, while Coast Guard Administration Director-General Lee Chung-wei (李仲威) and National Sun Yat-sen University vice president Chen Yang-yi (陳陽益) have been tapped as deputy chairmen, the source said.
Lee would continue to head the administration while serving as deputy chairman of the council, the source added.
The establishment of the council would place the use and conservation of maritime resources, as well as marine research and development, under one agency, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
The council was scheduled to be inaugurated in July 2016, but it was suspended due to a difference in opinion in the legislature, the source said.
The inauguration was rescheduled for Saturday during a meeting last year presided over by former premier Lin Chuan (林全), it said.
Kaohsiung, the nation’s most important commercial and fishing port, was considered the ideal location for the council, the source said, adding that it was also a move to narrow the development gap between the north and south of the nation.
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
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
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