Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday was mum on reports that he would appoint former Greater Taichung deputy mayor Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) to be his third deputy mayor, but hinted that candidates with backgrounds in education would be “very suitable” for the post.
While the third deputy mayor seat has remained vacant since Ko’s second term began on Dec. 25 last year, some local media on Tuesday reported that Ko is likely announce Tsai for the position next week or after he returns from a visit to the US.
Tsai previously served as principal of Taichung First Senior High School and Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, as well as Taichung deputy mayor under former Taichung mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). He was also deputy minister of culture from 2015 to 2016.
Asked for comment yesterday, Ko said: “When the time comes, someone will come to work and everyone will know.”
“I do not think about the pan-blue or pan-green camps anymore; I am free from hindrance,” he said when asked if his appointment of Tsai would imply his intention to cooperate with the KMT, similar to his appointment of Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as a deputy mayor before his falling-out with the DPP.
The third deputy mayor would be in charge of supervising the city’s departments of social welfare, education, cultural affairs, and information and tourism, so appointing someone with a background in education would be most suitable, Ko said.
Asked why he has not recruited any DPP members, Ko said that not all personnel assignments have been decided by him alone, such as the decision to make former Taipei city councilor Chen Lee-hui (陳孋輝) the director of partially city government-owned bus carrier Metropolitan Transport Corp, which was suggested by the Taipei Department of Transportation.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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