Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said that there is no plan for a Cabinet reshuffle any time soon.
Su made the remark at a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei marking the second anniversary of his Cabinet.
He has never found the job tiring or bothersome, and he cherishes the opportunity that the people have given him to serve, Su said, adding thanks to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for her confidence in him.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
While most premiers experience a decline in popularity from the moment they take on the role — as it involves decisions that cannot please everyone — he could only try to satisfy the majority, Su said.
“A premier can choose to do something for their government or they can be an ornament,” he said. “I chose the former.”
Asked whether the Tsai administration would “ambush” the public by allowing imports of radiation-free food from Japan the same way it had announced changes to the rules for US pork imports in August last year, Su denied the premise of the question.
The government had not “ambushed ” the public on the issue of US pork imports containing traces of ractopamine, he said.
It followed proper procedures, he said.
Taiwan banned food imports from five Japanese prefectures after the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster, which is seen as a barrier to the nation joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The government is closely monitoring pork imports after the new rules went into effect on Jan. 1, Su said, adding that he has personally inspected the screening processes.
A Web site launched by the government on Monday last week shows the percentage of local and imported pork on the market, as well as the results of tests for ractopamine residues, he said.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans