A former National Security Bureau (NSB) chief returned to the post yesterday after he was tapped by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Thursday to take over the helm of the country’s top intelligence body.
Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明), first non-Mainlander to hold the country’s top intelligence post, succeeded Shi Hwei-yow (許惠祐) as the NSB director-general after Shi’s resignation on Tuesday.
Media reports said Ma chose Tsai because of his knowledge of intelligence affairs and his belief that illegal wiretapping must not be allowed.
Tsai was first promoted to the top NSB post in 2001 by then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
shooting
He resigned in 2004 to take responsibility for the March 19 shooting of Chen and then vice president Annette Lu in Tainan City on the eve of their re-election.
Shi confirmed on Wednesday that he had tendered his resignation a day earlier to facilitate Ma’s efforts to rearrange his administration’s lineup.
He said he did not tender his resignation until a month after Ma’s inauguration because he was waiting to pass his job to his successor.
Also yesterday, new National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) assumed office in a changeover ceremony presided over by Minister of the Interior Liao Liao-yi (廖了以) at the NPA headquarters in Taipei City.
Wang, a former director-general of the Taipei City Police Department, took control of the nation’s top police post from Hou You-yi (侯友宜), who has been appointed as the new president of the Central Police University.
Speaking at the ceremony, Liao praised Hou for his outstanding performance as NPA chief, noting that the public’s level of satisfaction with public order increased dramatically during his two-plus years in the post.
morale
Liao also lauded Hou’s success in boosting the morale of the police force and securing salary raises.
Liao expressed the hope that Wang will be able to build on the foundation laid down by Hou and lead the 70,000-strong police force in making Taiwan the safest country in Asia.
For his part, Wang said that his task as new head of the NPA will focus on the four goals of improving human rights, boosting the police force’s effectiveness, increasing discipline and improving the force’s image.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
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STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
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