Taipei’s new Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday on his first day in office at Taipei City Hall encouraged his staff to “just go ahead and do it” as long as their actions are beneficial.
Chiang, who was sworn in on Sunday and turned 44 yesterday, was speaking after a morning meeting with the city government’s top officials.
He said he would through this week continue the 7:30am daily meetings established by former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
Photo: Tien Su-hua, Taipei Times
After the meeting, Chiang encouraged Taipei City Hall staff to work together, consider the feelings of city residents when implementing policies, and build a warm and service-oriented government.
“As long as the government stands with the people, the people will stand with the government,” he said. “My expectation for you all is this: Just go ahead and do it, as long as it is beneficial for the city residents. Just do it. I will be your strong supporter.”
During the morning meeting, the staff exchanged ideas on several issues mentioned in his election campaign, including the Taipei Dome project and improving traffic issues in Neihu District (內湖), as well as plans for the city’s New Year’s Eve event and the Taipei Lantern Festival in February, Chiang said.
He said that after cross-departmental coordination is established, the meetings might be changed to meet particular policy objectives or to operate more effectively.
Chiang’s decision to wait until February for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) to take office as deputy mayor apparently to avoid a by-election for her legislative seat, sparked a mixed response.
Some said he was “starting a race with only one shoe on,” and others said he was taking away the legislative seat from the district, while KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) defended it as not wasting government funding on a by-election.
Regarding the delay, he said that Chu has expressed his stance, and he respects the party’s position.
Asked why he did not keep his campaign promise to ensure that one-third of his top officials and department heads would be women, Chiang said he recruited his team based on their specialties and qualifications.
Although gender is an important factor, other aspects had to be considered, Chiang said.
The goal would be reached gradually in time, he added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
RSS