Shieh Jhy-wey (
Known for his passion for politics and talent for hosting large-scale campaign activities and talk shows, the 55-year-old academic is a familiar face to those who attended the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) rallies during last year's presidential election.
Shieh, a second-generation Mainlander but a close ally of President Chen Shui-bian (
"I spent nearly nine years studying and doing research in Germany. It is a country I am familiar with. I will bring Taiwan with me to Germany. My visions [for the job] develop through my recollections of the past," Shieh said in a phone interview.
Shieh campaigned for the DPP in elections and hosted fundraising functions for the Taiwan Advocate, a think tank initiated by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), driven by a sense of a mission to bring the Taiwanese people to recognize the country's sovereignty.
Shieh once told The Journalist magazine "no matter how bad the DPP is, it is still better than the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in its best shape."
However, so far the academic has not joined any political party.
As the country's top diplomat to Germany, Shieh noted that he would represent neither the pan-green camp nor the pan-blue camp.
"I stand for Taiwan alone," he said.
Over the past few years, Chen and the DPP have repeatedly tried to recruit Shieh to join the administration. Hsieh has been offered posts such as the head of the Government Information Office and the National Youth Commission. The academic rejected them all.
Government positions, commented The Journalist, are not Shieh's purpose in campaigning for the DPP.
In Shieh's third book, Life Book (
The book, whose Chinese title means "too late," is a collection of short essays Shieh wrote over the last three years.
"What propelled me to write these essays was a sense that it is getting `too late' to undo some things. Some mistakes have been made and there is nothing I can do about them now," Shieh wrote.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
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