Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday defended the efficiency of his city government amid accusations that it failed to take the lead among the five special municipalities in announcing the official back-to-school day.
Saying Taipei would be a “bellwether” among the special municipalities during the swearing-in ceremony for his second term last month, Hau vowed to lead municipal development efforts. However, New Taipei City (新北市) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) beat him to the task when he announced on Monday that the new semester would start on Feb. 14.
The announcement came amid disputes over whether schools should delay the start of the new semester until the beginning of the week, as the initial day, Feb. 11, falls on a Friday. The Ministry of Education had been scheduled to hold a meeting with local governments today to reach a decision on the matter.
A few hours after Chu made the announcement, Taipei City Government spokesperson Chao Hsin-ping (趙心屏) said the city would also delay the official back-to-school day to Feb. 14, with a make-up day on Feb. 19.
Hau dismissed accusations that he had been slow to respond to the situation and had been less aggressive than Chu in promoting municipal policies.
“We need to communicate with schools and parent groups before deciding on which day to resume classes. It’s not about whether Taipei City can make the announcement first,” he said at Taipei City Hall.
While the position of Taipei mayor served as a springboard to the presidency for both President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Chu, 49, is considered a rising star in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and a likely presidential candidate to take over Ma’s leading role in the party.
Asked to comment on his beating Hau to the announcement, Chu said his administration was simply trying to handle municipal issues in a faster and more efficient manner.
Meanwhile, Hau continued to promote the city’s childbirth subsidy program, saying policies to create a friendly environment for youth had encouraged more people to move to the city.
Statistics provided by the city showed the number of people who registered their household in Taipei last year reached 120,189, while the number of people who left was 105,269.
The number of residents who registered their marriage last year reached 17,321, or 3,055 more than the previous year.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
RSS