A government source said yesterday that the appointment of Eugene Chien (
Chien, a former minister of foreign affairs, was originally scheduled to take over the top diplomatic post to the EU in Brussels at the end of next month.
However, Premier Yu Shyi-kun indicated the arrangement was to be postponed immediately following the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) admission on July 23 that its representative office in the UK had issued documents to the wife of fugitive murder suspect Andrew Wang (
The UK representative office made a similar mistake last year, during which the office approved Wang's application and issued documents to Wang.
Some opposition politicians therefore attacked the MOFA, saying that there must have some inappropriate relationships between Chien and Wang. Commenting on speculation that Chien's appointment might be canceled, the source told the Taipei Times yesterday that Chien would not lose his new job.
"The Cabinet will announce Chien's appointment after the Control Yuan publicizes its investigation report about Chien's culpability in the recent passport scandal that occurred at the UK representative office," said a high-ranking official who is in charge of the government's foreign affairs.
"The Cabinet and the Presidential Office understand that Chien did not exercise any illegal or inappropriate involvement in the passport scandal," the official said. "However, the government has to respect the Control Yuan's authority."
Meanwhile, Tsai told the Taipei Times yesterday evening that there is no possibility of her accepting the nomination, for the same reason that she would not accept a post as the nation's top representative to the US: She wanted to be close to her family so she could spend more time with them.
"Tsai received a PhD from the London School of Economics and once served as a ministerial-level official," the source said. "She would be a very qualified candidate to succeed Tien as Taiwan's representative to Britain."
Another possible candidate would be Antonio Chiang (
The source said that Chiang was originally slated to take the post of top representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada from Chen Tong-pi (
"Chen Tong-pi's performance during past years aroused controversial comments," the source said.
"Some praised his loyalty in promoting the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government's policies; however, the Canadian government and members of the Canadian representative office strongly questioned his diplomatic skills," said the source.
"The MOFA therefore is considering finding some other person to replace Chen Tong-pi," the source said. "Chiang was recommended by the NSC."
The official said that Chiang's appointment remains undecided, because the MOFA is considering the personnel arrangement of foreign office representatives, which include the UK, Canada, and other countries.
Chiang said that he has not yet been consulted by the government about serving as a foreign representative.
"No MOFA official has discussed this arrangement with me," Chiang said yesterday.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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