Control Yuan member Kang Ning-hsiang (康寧祥) yesterday gave his strongest hint yet that he intends to take the vacant post of vice minister of national defense.
Asked at a routine monthly Control Yuan press conference whether he intended to take the post, Kang said, "[I have] plans to move in that direction," adding, "I am nervous [about taking the post]," and "I think it will be challenging."
But he also added, "The president is still awaiting my response."
Chinese-language media have reported in recent days that Kang is to assume the post on June 1.
One of the two posts of vice minister of defense has remained unfilled since the Cabinet reshuffle in February. At the time, Kang told reporters that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) favored him for the job but had agreed that he should complete his existing caseload at the Control Yuan before assuming the post.
Former air force chief Chen Chao-ming (
Although Kang told the press in February, "I am going to take the post," he later demurred, saying that he had not decided whether to join the ministry.
Throughout his tenure in the Control Yuan over the past nine years, Kang has focused on investigations of military cases, including the Lafayette frigate scandal.
Asked whether he thought his "future job" in the ministry might be made difficult by hostility caused by his investigations into military scandals, he responded, "Those probes helped me to understand the ministry better. If I join the ministry, I certainly will modify my approach to fit in with it [the ministry]."
Kang has been a Taipei City Council member for three years, a lawmaker for 19 years, a National Assembly member for three years and a Control Yuan member for nine years.
He has no formal military background other than compulsory military service.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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