Legislators from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Wednesday strongly opposed a plan by the Executive Yuan to relocate the Sports Affairs Council (SAC) and the Fisheries Agency to Taipei.
In separate statements, DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) and the KMT’s Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) urged the government not to waste taxpayers’ money after so much was spent to move the headquarters of the two agencies from Taipei to Kaohsiung less than a year ago.
Both Kuan and Huang represent constituencies in Kaohsiung City.
The Fisheries Agency was relocated to Kaohsiung City on Oct. 30 last year and the SAC was moved there on Feb. 1 this year. The relocation was part of the former DPP government’s policy of narrowing the north-south gap.
The DPP lost power in the presidential election on March 22.
The KMT-led Cabinet recently asked the legislature to withdraw the amendment under which the Fisheries Agency was relocated to Kaohsiung.
Meanwhile, the council has organized two public hearings in Kaohsiung and Taipei over the past two days to assess the possibility of moving its offices back to Taipei.
Kuan criticized the moves, saying they were aimed at thoroughly overturning the former government’s policy.
The gap between the north and the south would remain, and the hopes of the people in the south for an injection of resources into that area would also be destroyed, she said.
Huang said that when the Fisheries Agency was moved to Kaohsiung last year, 118 agency personnel were also relocated.
Each of them is entitled to a monthly subsidy of NT$20,000 and other benefits because of the relocation, she said.
If the agency is moved back to Taipei, the huge amount of taxpayers’ money that the government spent on the relocation would have been wasted, she said.
Kaohsiung City Director of Information Shih Che (史哲) also urged President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) not to scrap the DPP policy but to pay attention to public opinion.
It was reasonable to base the two organizations in Kaohsiung as the city is one of the country’s main fishing areas and it also accommodates a national sports training center, Shih said.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
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
Taipei resident Mu Chu-hua caught some glimpses of China’s mighty military parade on YouTube on Wednesday. As she watched hypersonic missiles roll down Beijing’s Changan Avenue and troops march in lockstep, she did not feel like they posed a threat to Taiwan. Mu, a 69-year-old retiree, said she saw the parade as simply a way for Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to “say thank you to the troops.” “I thought it was quite normal,” she said. “It was very cool.” China’s military parade commemorating the end of World War II was being watched internationally for insights into Beijing’s military advances and its show
RSS