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.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS