Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday led the Executive Yuan in a mass resignation, paving the way for a new Cabinet, which will most likely be led by Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (
When dogged by the media about the prospect of his assuming the premiership, Hsieh yesterday said that he has not yet been officially informed of the decision.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
"I'm as curious as everybody, and I don't know many things until I read the newspaper," he said.
Yu, during his farewell speech yesterday morning, likened his Cabinet team to Shaolin monks, saying that he was glad he and his team passed the challenge of the "18 Bronze Men," which he said was a test only the most skillful Shaolin monks can pass to move on to the highest level of martial arts.
Yu made the remarks during a provisional weekly Cabinet meeting -- the final meeting in his tenure.
Although the road to reform is long and shaky, Yu said, he was proud that he and his team managed to lead the nation out of difficulties at a critical time.
Yu also likened his team to a relay team passing the Olympic torch.
"Under the leadership of President Chen Shui-bian (
In addition to expressing his personal gratitude to his colleagues, Yu outlined the achievements made over the past three years during his premiership.
When he took the office in February 2002, Yu said that the economic growth rate for 2001 was minus 2.22 percent.
That figure, however, jumped to last year's estimated 5.93 percent -- the best in seven years. The jobless rate for last year also dropped to 4.44 percent -- the lowest since 2001.
Meanwhile, President Chen Shui-bian (
"I will make a significant announcement [about the new Cabinet] tomorrow morning at 9am, so I hope all of you can get up early and make the news conference," Chen said yesterday.
Chen implied that he might announce all the details about the new Cabinet.
"But maybe we could talk about something else during our journey to Palau," Chen said.
Chen is scheduled to embark on a five-day diplomatic trip to Palau and the Solomon Islands from Thursday, and will spend two days attending Palauan President Tommy Remengesau's inauguration and visiting the Rock Islands, a tourist attraction, as well as hosting a dinner for Taiwanese expatriates.
Hsieh, who is almost certain to take over as the new premier, was tight-lipped about the new post, saying only that he "cherished every second in Kaohsiung City" when asked about the issue.
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Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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