The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed a bill to transform the National Space Organization (NSPO) into the National Space Center, which is to be a nondepartmental public body overseen by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The National Space Center Establishment Act (國家太空中心設置條例) now awaits President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) signature.
The NSPO’s reorganization into a nondepartmental public body is mandated by the Space Development Act (太空發展法), which took effect in January, the ministry said in a statement.
An independent, dedicated space agency would improve the nation’s space operations and development of space technologies, it said.
The change would add more responsibilities to the agency’s original mission, including cultivating talent in space-related fields and devising policies to boost the competitiveness of the nation’s space industry, the ministry said.
The new roles would be better accomplished by a nondepartmental public body, especially with regard to resource integration, it said.
The space center would be controlled by the ministry, and later by the Council of Science and Technology following the ministry’s planned transformation.
It is to oversee the creation and execution of national space technology programs; the development, transfer and commercialization of space technologies; and facilitate international space cooperation and exchanges, among other tasks, the ministry said.
The center is to be overseen by a board of trustees with 11 to 15 members, three to five supervisors and a chairperson, which are unpaid positions.
A director is to be nominated by the chairman and confirmed by the board.
As nondepartmental public bodies are not governed by the Government Procurement Act (政府採購法), lawmakers separately passed resolutions for the space agency to create rules to prevent corruption.
These include procedures for procurement and rules to prevent conflicts of interest to be submitted to the ministry in three months and five months after the promulgation of the establishment act.
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A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had
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