Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday announced a major reshuffle of department chiefs as he prepares for the start of his second term on Tuesday next week.
A resignation ceremony was held at Taipei City Hall yesterday morning, with all department heads in attendance and Taipei Deputy Mayor Teng Chia-chi (鄧家基) representing them to hand in the resignation name list to Ko.
Two of the three deputy mayors — Charles Lin (林欽榮) and Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) — are among those who are leaving their posts.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
After thanking the department heads, Ko said that when he assumed the post four years ago, he promised that city government workers would not have to serve any political party or ideology, nor the mayor; they only have to serve the public.
He is happy that his administrative team was not involved in graft scandals, which is a big change compared with previous administrations, because civil servants can finally perform their duties according to the law, make the most of their professional skills and be innovative, Ko said.
Stressing the importance of an open government and public participation, Ko said: “Openness and transparency are political ideals that this city government have gradually realized.”
He thanked the department heads for their efforts and said he hoped that they would bring the new political culture to their new positions.
Civil servants ranked grade 10 and above in the city government have all been promoted through a selection mechanism that includes voting by peers, so they no longer needed to “pull strings” to earn credit and could focus on their performance, Ko said.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park this weekend, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a theme food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances. Pokemon Go Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as photo attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs. Pokemon trainers could also experience the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area. Three PokeStops are to be set up in the park. Trainers are invited to take
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