Taipei’s sports department head resigned yesterday after less than a month in office.
Yang Jong-her (楊忠和) announced his resignation as Department of Sports commissioner in a press release, saying: “It is time for a new generation to pick up the baton,” since he had already completed his “interim tasks.”
While saying he looked forward to playing with his grandchildren, Yang denied rumors that he could not handle the stress of the job.
Wang said he was a “workaholic” who was in “vigorous health.”
His announcement follows media speculation that he would resign over the weekend, which he had initially denied.
Taipei City Government spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) said Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) respected Yang’s decision in accordance with his philosophy of “not rejecting those who come, nor holding back those who wish to leave.”
He refused to comment on the motivation behind Yang’s decision.
On Sunday, Ko had said that Yang “was under a lot of stress” because of his responsibility for preparing for the 2017 Universiade, especially in light of the recent controversy over the athletes’ dormitories in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口).
The past weeks have seen a spate of controversies related to the Universiade, with Ko, an independent, criticizing the arrangements made by the administration of former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
In addition to Ko’s demands that adjustments be made to construction plans for the athletes’ dormitories, there have been concerns over whether the Taipei Dome will be available for the event.
While the Universiade’s opening and closing ceremonies were slated to be held in the Dome, contractor Farglory Group said last week that the site might not be completed in time due to disputes with the city government.
Yang is the first commissioner to leave Ko’s administration.
Lin said Yang’s successor would be chosen via the selection committee process, but a specific timeline has yet to be determined.
Ko has yet to appoint a third deputy mayor — who will be responsible for coordinating the Universiade and other international events — with a previous candidate declining appointment to the position.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS