Lin Join-sane (林中森) became the secretary-general of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday, vowing to complete the missions set forth by the party and party chairman. Lin said he hoped to reconcile party affairs with public opinion, so that the voices of people at the grassroots level could get through to the government via the party.
Lin, 67, previously served as Kaohsiung deputy mayor, deputy minister of the interior and Executive Yuan secretary-general. He replaces Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) as KMT secretary-general.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, was supportive of Lin, but reminded him that it was a “tough job” and that he needed to be mentally prepared for it. Ma said the public has seen the party engage in many substantive reforms, but feels they are insufficient.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“We hope there will be more reform so that the grand old party can have a new look in its centennial year,” Ma said. “Lin is good at coordinating. His low-key style always enables him to complete his mission.”
He also praised Lin as someone well-versed in a wide range of fields, from relations between the central and local governments to planning and construction, and from social welfare to national parks.
The president commended the Liao for a job well done, saying that he had reluctantly accepted Liao’s request to resign because he had repeatedly asked for more time with his 98-year-old mother.
Liao would not confirm -reports that he will become the head of the Association of East Asian Relations, which handles Taiwan’s relations with Japan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which stipulates that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican US Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude China from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China
Garbage and recycling schedules are to vary from Saturday through Sunday next week over the Lunar New Year holiday period. The following collection information is from the governments of the six special municipalities. Taipei Regular service: Sunday to Monday next week. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Extra service: Friday next week. Regular service resumes: Saturday next week. New Taipei City Extra service: Sunday. Adjusted collection time: Monday next week — garbage collection is to begin in the morning and end at 6pm. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Regular service resumes: Friday next week. Note: Garbage can be dropped off at 70
Taiwan’s Li Yu-hsiang performs in the men’s singles figure skating short program at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday. Li finished 24th with a score of 72.41 to advance to Saturday’s free skate portion of the event. He is the first Taiwanese to qualify for the free skate of men’s singles figure skating at the Olympics since David Liu in 1992.
A KFC branch in Kaohsiung may be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$200 million (US$1,907 and US$6.37 million), after a customer yesterday found an entire AAA battery inside an egg tart, the Kaohsiung Department of Health said today. The customer was about to microwave a box of egg tarts they had bought at the fast-food restaurant’s Nanzih (楠梓) branch when they checked the bottom and saw a dark shadow inside one of them, they said in a Threads post. The customer filmed themself taking the egg tart apart to reveal an entire AAA battery inside, which apparently showed signs of damage. Surveillance footage showed
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