The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) Chang Cheng-yuan (張政源) is stepping down to assume the post of Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) director-general.
The change — effectively a demotion from a deputy minister to an agency director — is part of the government’s efforts to reform the TRA following a derailment on Oct. 21 that killed 18 passengers and injured 190.
Chang used to work at the TRA and is now returning to the railway agency to reform it after serving in the second-highest position at the ministry, the Executive Yuan said, adding that he does not carry the “baggage” of the TRA, despite being a former TRA employee.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
“The ministry originally considered allowing Chang to serve as acting TRA director-general while maintaining his position as deputy minister, but doing so would contravene regulations governing the appointment of government personnel,” the Executive Yuan said in a statement.
However, Chang does not mind taking on a lower position and being paid a lower salary, the statement said, adding that he has resigned as deputy minister to become the TRA director-general.
“We thank him for accepting this commission voluntarily and hope that he can successfully implement reforms at the TRA,” it said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
With a doctoral degree from National Chiao Tung University’s Department of Transportation and Logistics Management, Chang was the station master at the Taipei Railway Station from 1987 to 1991.
He also served as tourism division director at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York and Tainan Bureau of Transportation chief during Premier William Lai’s (賴清德) tenure as city mayor and was later promoted to Tainan deputy mayor.
MOTC Minister Wu Hong-mo (吳宏謀) told a news conference that the ministry had asked Chang his opinion about leading the TRA.
“He was very passionate about it and said that he was capable of doing the job. As the TRA’s operations are now under heavy public scrutiny after the accident, we decided to choose someone from a higher official to handle this matter,” Wu said.
Speaking about the TRA’s reforms, Wu said that 1,907 of the 2,818 job vacancies approved by the Executive Yuan have been filled, some of whom are undergoing training for their new jobs.
An estimated 3,000 new employees would be added to the workforce in two years, Wu said.
The ministry would also utilize the funds from the annual budget allocated to the TRA as well as from the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Development Program to reduce operational risk on certain railway sections, including those that sharp curves or that are frequently damaged by landslides, Wu said.
Regarding standard operating procedures for deactivating the automatic train protection (ATP) system — a device that ensures train drivers stay within the speed limit set for each section — Wu said that the TRA does not have clear regulations on the speed limit when the ATP is turned off.
“Until the agency issues clear regulations on this matter, Puyuma Express and Taroko Express trains are to have two train drivers on board instead of one,” Wu said, adding that the change would take effect today.
Chang was yesterday in Taitung to meet with relatives of those who died in the train derailment when the Executive Yuan announced his appointment.
He later said in an interview with local media that an ad hoc task force is now stationed in Taitung to help injured passengers with their medical treatment and families of the deceased with funeral arrangements.
The task force would also assist the families in seeking compensation from the TRA, he said.
Chang vowed to help boost TRA employees’ morale and to ensure that the agency strictly adheres to safety procedures.
He said he would also help the TRA regain the public’s trust and respect.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the premier have vowed to find the cause of the accident, Chang said, adding that he hoped the public would support the TRA and give it more encouragement.
The ministry’s promise was met with doubts from members of Taiwan Railway Union.
“It does not matter who the new TRA director-general is going to be if the agency keeps rejecting reforms,” union secretary Hsiao Nung-yu (蕭農瑀) said.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
The US House of Representatives yesterday unanimously passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, which aims to disincentivize Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by cutting Chinese leaders and their family members off from the US financial system if Beijing acts against Taiwan. The bipartisan bill, which would also publish the assets of top Chinese leaders, was cosponsored by Republican US Representative French Hill, Democratic US Representative Brad Sherman and seven others. If the US president determines that a threat against Taiwan exists, the bill would require the US Department of the Treasury to report to Congress on funds held by certain members of the
RSS