Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) yesterday announced his resignation, saying that he was standing down to focus on his Taipei mayoral campaign ahead of the Nov. 26 election.
Chen, who on Wednesday was selected as the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate, told a Cabinet news conference in Taipei that he had submitted his letter of resignation to Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday morning.
Chen said that he would stay on as health minister until a successor is named, adding that he would also resign from his duties as head of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Photo: CNA
Chen, who became health minister in 2017, rose to prominence as the face of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hosting the center’s daily news briefings.
The center had worked tirelessly to fight COVID-19 over the past two years, Chen said, adding that he was confident his replacement would lead the team with similar vigor.
Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said that the Cabinet would announce Chen’s replacement as soon as a decision is made.
Anonymous Cabinet sources on Wednesday said that the government was expected to name Chen’s replacement in one week.
Chen, 68, was a dentist before being appointed deputy minister of the then-Department of Health in 2005.
He has never run for government office, but his central role in leading the nation’s COVID-19 response has transformed him into a hopeful to lead the capital.
Chen’s entry into the Taipei mayoral race has been heavily criticized by opposition parties such as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which said that Chen would be abandoning his post while the nation continues to deal with COVID-19.
In the mayoral race, Chen is to face KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), and possibly Deputy Taipei Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), who has yet to announce her election bid, as a candidate for the Taiwan People’s Party.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
RSS