A new government body, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) was launched in the central city of Taichung yesterday. The new body is aimed at better management of Taiwan's water re-sources and will address its lingering water-shortage problems.
Independent and opposition lawmakers, however, wasted no time and immediately started pushing for the resignation of the new agency's first chief, Huang Jing-san (黃金山), over the recent water-shortage problem in northern Taiwan.
Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) presided over the new agency's launching ceremony to signify the importance the government is giving to water-resources management and conservation.
Taiwan suffered serious flooding last year due to heavy rainfalls brought by a string of typhoons. This year, abnormal climatic conditions have caused the opposite problem, with northern Taiwan experiencing water shortages in recent months. Against this backdrop, the opening of the WRA has drawn much attention in Taiwanese politics.
Huang, originally the head of the ministry's Water Resources Bureau (WRB), said that the new agency will be responsible for the survey, development and distribution of Taiwan's water resources. The agency will also have to clean up rivers, renovate dikes and prevent drought and flood disasters in general.
He said the WRA will have 15 subordinate agencies, including a water resources bureau in the northern, central and southern parts of the nation.
Legislator Sisy Chen (陳文茜) and her two opposition colleagues -- Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) of the Kuomintang and Lee Yung-ping (李永萍) of the PFP -- immediately urged Huang to quit his new position as a sign that he assumes responsibility -- as the former WRB head -- for the water shortages that have gripped northern Taiwan since mid-February.
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
GRAFT PROBE: Critics questioned Ko claiming he did not know about the Core Pacific floor area ratio issue until this year, citing a 2021 video in which he was asked about it Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released without bail early yesterday, while his deputy during his tenure as Taipei mayor was detained and held incommunicado after being questioned since Friday over graft allegations related to a shopping center redevelopment project. Prosecutors on Saturday filed a request with the Taipei District Court to officially detain Ko and former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) over allegations surrounding the redevelopment of Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心). The court yesterday determined that the evidence provided by prosecutors was insufficient to justify the detention of Ko and ordered his
RSS