Acting Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) yesterday said that his top priority would be to deal with the challenges facing the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) following a deadly derailment of a Puyuma Express train on Oct. 21.
Wang yesterday officially became the acting minister following the resignation of former minister of transportation and communications Wu Hong-mo (吳宏謀) on Saturday last week.
Wu, who was in office for 141 days, is one of three Cabinet members whose resignations were approved by Premier William Lai (賴清德) after the Democratic Progressive Party suffered major losses in Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections.
In his final interview with the media as minister, Wu said that his next move would be to take a break and reflect on his shortcomings.
As the ministry’s employees bid him farewell with a round of applause, Wu bowed and encouraged them to press on and not let the public down.
Regarding the issues facing the TRA, Wang said that the agency has been in operation for 130 years and would soon undergo an organizational overhaul.
In the meantime, the agency would have to improve the maintenance of its facilities, he said.
The agency’s operational safety committee would be transformed into the operational safety department, a move that aims to regain the public’s trust in the agency, Wang said.
Half of the budget allocated from the Executive Yuan’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program would be used to improve the agency’s operational efficiency, he said.
It is critical that the agency make good use of the funding by itemizing problematic equipment, from pantographs, cables and railway tracks to automatic train protection systems and air compressors, he added.
Several mayors and county commissioners have begun reassessing the projects listed in the development program that are within their jurisdictions, Wang said, adding that construction projects must meet the needs and demands of local residents and that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications is optimistic about the implementation of the program.
Asked about the family members of the derailment’s victims who have expressed dissatisfaction, particularly about the compensation offered by the agency, Wang said that they want to know the reason behind the derailment.
The agency would compensate the families based on precedent, he said.
Calling himself an “errand boy,” Wang said that as acting minister he would make sure that work at the ministry continues as it was, adding that the ministry has much more qualified individuals to assume the post of minister.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS