Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday went to the Legislative Yuan to seek support from the opposition caucus leaders for bills proposed by the Executive Yuan, after meeting with Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member.
Su Tseng-chang was accompanied by Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), Executive Yuan Secretary-General Li Meng-yen (李孟諺) and DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) as he met with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general William Tseng (曾銘宗), KMT caucus whip Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) and KMT Legislator John Wu (吳志揚), as well as People First Party (PFP) caucus whip Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) and New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), among others.
The visit came two weeks before Su Tseng-chang is due to present an administrative report to the legislature.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Chiang told the premier that he approved of his surprise inspection on Monday of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s baggage check system as part of the government’s efforts to keep African swine fever out of the country, saying that he has lived up to his reputation as a man who always takes the lead.
However, his leadership style would be best rewarded if he occasionally pauses to ensure there has been sufficient communication with opposition parties, Chiang added.
The KMT caucus hopes that Su Tseng-chang would bring government policies more in sync with public opinion as he pledged during a speech at the Presidential Office last week, he said.
Tseng praised the premier’s “very, very strong” ability to get things done, citing his experience working under him at the Financial Supervisory Commission during his earlier term as premier from January 2006 to May 2007.
He said that he hopes the premier would channel this energy when improving the nation’s economy, including solving the problems of low wages and shortages of land, water, talent, workers and electricity facing Taiwanese businesses returning from China.
Wu, who is scheduled to take over as KMT caucus secretary-general next month, called on the premier to overhaul the national energy policy to reflect public opinion as shown by the results of referendums held alongside the Nov. 24 elections last year.
The plan to build an upgraded coal-fired Shenao Power Plant in New Taipei City had been shelved in favor of construction of a third liquified natural has terminal in Taoyuan’s Guantang Industrial Park ahead of the elections to help the approval rating of Su Tseng-chang, who was then the DPP’s candidate for New Taipei City mayor, Wu said.
Now that Su Tseng-chang is premier, he should reevaluate whether to restart the environmental impact assessment procedure for the terminal, which has been criticized by environmentalists for the potentially negative effects it would have on ecologically sensitive algal reefs along the coast of Taoyuan’s Guanyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts.
Lee praised the premier for being willing to again take on the job and its heavy burdens, and promised to cooperate with the Cabinet in pushing policies that would promote the public interest.
Huang commended Su Tseng-chang’s effort to prevent an outbreak of African swine fever, saying that it would hopefully instill in his Cabinet a sense of urgency when serving the public.
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
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
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
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