The central government will refrain from increasing the size of local governments to the extent that it would compromise the principle of streamlining their structure, the Central Personnel Administration (CPA) said in a press statement.
The Examination Yuan’s Ministry of Civil Services said on Thursday that the number of employees in local governments could be increased by 22,500 after Taipei County is upgraded to a municipality and the counties and cities of Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung are merged into municipalities at the end of next year.
In accordance with related regulations, a municipality with a population of more than 2 million is allowed to have a maximum of 15,400 employees, while the number of government staff is capped at 6,500 for a municipality with a population between 1.25 million and 2 million. Chou Chiu-ling (周秋玲), director of the Department of Laws and Regulations at the ministry, said that Taipei County would be allowed to increase its staff by 6,668, while the staff numbers could be increased in the merger of Taichung, Kaohsiung and Tainan by 9,439, 5,628, and 669 respectively.
All the counties and cities said in their proposals that they would not increase the number of staff by a large margin because they are all on a limited budget, Chou said. In the proposals, Taichung County and Taichung City wished to increase staff by 1,000 in the first stage. Tainan County and Tainan City said that the number of staff in a merged Tainan City would remain at the current level, as did Taipei County. Kaohsiung County and Kaohsiung City said they would hire more staff in a gradual manner, Chou said.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators