Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday welcomed the news that Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) had appointed the principal of a prestigious Taipei high school as one of his deputies.
Hu’s announcement that he was appointing Taipei Jianguo High School principal Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) as deputy mayor took many by surprise.
Tsai has served as a division chief at the Ministry of Education and as the deputy commissioner of the Cultural Affairs Department in Taichung County. He was selected to be school principal in 2008.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
“I think Mayor Hu made an excellent choice and I am glad that principal Tsai has the opportunity to serve more people in his future position,” Hau said.
Taipei’s Department of Education will organize a selection committee to choose Tsai’s successor.
In contrast with the municipal team put together by Hu and Eric Chu (朱立倫), mayor-elect of New Taipei City (新北市, the proposed name of the upgraded Taipei County), Hau’s new administration was described by the local media as lacking impressive faces or refreshing choices.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said Hau’s new line-up was a “stale team” with only a few new members and little possibility of making impressive achievements during his second term.
However, Hau shrugged off the criticism, and said all of the officials had been picked for their administrative experience and expertise in their fields.
Hau announced his new administration lineup on Thursday, with seven new members joining the 37-member team.
Incoming Taipei deputy mayor Chen Wei-ren (陳威仁) is Ministry of Transportation and Communications administrative deputy minister, while the next commissioner of the city’s transportation department, Jason Lin (林志盈), is now the general manager of Taipei EasyCard Corp. Both served as department heads for President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration when he was Taipei mayor.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
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