Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) yesterday approved the resignation of Minister without Portfolio Chu Yun-peng (朱雲鵬), who on Wednesday admitted he had skipped work to go out on dates during office hours after a local magazine carried a story and photos of him and his girlfriend hitting the town on April 7 and April 10.
Chu, a key adviser for the the Cabinet's economic and cross-strait policies, told a press conference last night that he made a verbal offer to resign on Wednesday after the story by Chinese-language weekly Next Magazine hit the newsstand. Although Liu rejected his verbal offer to quit, Chu said on Friday he submitted a written resignation, adding that Liu had not approved his resignation until yesterday after he again expressed his wish to leave the Cabinet.
Chu apologized to the public on Wednesday, but also defended himself by saying his work kept him occupied after normal working hours and on weekends, adding that he was once so busy that he contracted an illness and had to check into a hospital.
At the press conference last night, Chu again offered an apology, saying that he felt sorry for the time and resources the public spent in discussing the matter.
Chu, a professor of economics at National Central University, said he would continue his teaching career.
Executive Yuan spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓), who also attended the press conference, said Liu “reluctantly” accepted the resignation after he insisted.
Liu's approval of Chu's resignation came as a surprise because on Wednesday Su quoted Liu as saying that he gave Chu an oral reprimand and demanded that he not “repeat the mistake.”
On Thursday, when asked whether Chu should step down, following the precedents of former Taipei City Civil Affairs Department chief Ho Hung-jung (何鴻榮) and former Taipei City Research and Examination Department director Chou Wen-tsai (周韻采), who were also caught skipping work, Su said that they were different cases and couldn't be compared to each other.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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