Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday demanded that Minister Without Portfolio Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) report to the Legislative Yuan when it reviews technology-related budget proposals.
Lawmakers on the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday met to review the budget proposals submitted by the Ministry of Science and Technology for the next fiscal year.
While technology policy is mainly made by the ministry, its proposals are subject to review by the Board of Science and Technology, but Wu, who is one of the board’s deputy conveners, has never reported to the committee, KMT Legislator Chiang Nai-shin (蔣乃辛) said.
NT$1.8 billion (US$58.5 million) of the ministry’s NT$30 billion budget for technology development is allocated to the board and should be frozen until Wu answers lawmakers’ questions, Chiang said.
Responding to lawmakers’ questions, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said that both he and Wu are the board’s deputy conveners under Premier William Lai (賴清德) and that the ministry is fully responsible for carrying out technology-related policy.
While the board’s executive secretary, Tsai Zse-hong (蔡志宏), appeared before the committee after it requested a higher-ranking official, the committee decided to put off reviewing the board’s budget until Wu reports to the committee.
Fielding questions about the ministry’s proposed third space program from next year to 2028, Chen said that review by the Executive Yuan is taking longer than expected due to differences in opinion, so it might not start until 2020.
Some hold the view that the ministry should focus on seeking technological breakthroughs in space technology, while others say developing commercially viable technology is a priority, Chen said.
The ministry is more inclined to pursue breakthroughs and the third space program would outline plans to develop synthetic aperture radar systems that facilitate satellite imaging through heavy cloud cover, Chen added.
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
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
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