Cabinet Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) yesterday confirmed that Minister of Cultural Affairs Huang Pi-twan (黃碧端) had tendered her resignation.
Su told reporters that Huang had tendered her resignation several times, but Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) had yet to approve it.
“The premier said Minister Huang had performed very well and had been very competent in terms of protecting cultural assets, promoting of the arts and planning cultural events and major cultural venues,” Su said.
Huang sent a letter to members of the council saying she had decided not to stay after former premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) led members of his Cabinet in resigning en masse on Sept 7.
Huang became minister on May 20 last year and remained after the Cabinet reshuffle, but said she only promised to stay on temporarily so that the premier would have time to find a successor.
Huang said she had handed her resignation to the premier on a number of occasions over the past month because she believed she had completed her mission for the time being and that she wanted the council to be led by a younger and more energetic minister.
Vice Minister of Cultural Affairs Chang Yui-tan (張譽騰) told reporters the minister had been very concerned about the review by legislators and the media, adding that legislators’ criticism on Monday might have renewed her determination to quit.
During a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee on Monday, legislators criticized Huang for sending two text messages to her friends complaining about being unable to win support from legislators.
Huang was scheduled to attend the committee’s meeting yesterday, but requested a leave of absence.
Huang’s absence prompted Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators to threaten to boycott the council’s budget request for next year.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), a member of the committee, said Huang shouldn’t tender her resignation until the committee completes the budget review.
Meanwhile, Su dismissed media speculation that Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) also tendered his resignation over the US beef import controversy. Su said the premier and the president both gave credits to Yaung for his performance.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS