The Taipei City Government is a team in which ideas can be negotiated, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday amid rumors that decisionmaking power in his administration is too centralized.
On Monday, Lo Wang-zhe (羅旺哲) resigned as the city government’s spokesman due to “health reasons” after being in the role for less than two months.
Chinese-language media reported that city government insiders said the main reason for Lo’s resignation was frustration at decisions being in the hands of only a few people.
Photo: CNA
The reports said that Chen Kuo-jun (陳國君), a consultant, was among the top decisionmakers and was instructing — even at times scolding — government officials, so much so that a source described him as an “undercover mayor.”
Taipei Department of Civil Affairs Commissioner Chen Yung-te (陳永德) on Monday also hinted in a Facebook post that he intended to retire.
Asked about the post on Tuesday, he said that he feels tired, but has not spoken with Chiang about the issue nor made a decision about his job.
Even if Chiang wanted to talk to him about his job, the mayor might feel uncomfortable with it being so soon after Lo’s departure and due to his own friendship with Chiang, Chen Yung-te said.
Given the situation, he would not raise the issue with Chiang, but he does feel more tired than he did when he was a city councilor, he added.
Chiang yesterday said that he has spoken with Chen Yung-te and visited a temple with him on Tuesday, so their communication is smooth, while Chen Yung-te has been working hard to push forward department policies since he took office.
The city government is a team and all of its members are playing according to their roles, and its departments are working together, he said.
Asked about decisionmaking power and whether Chen Kuo-jun was an “undercover mayor,” Chiang reiterated that the city government is a team in which every member shares their ideas to be thoroughly discussed to reach the best decisions.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
RSS