William Lai (賴清德) took the oath yesterday and was sworn in as the first mayor of the new special municipality of Greater Tainan, pledging to restore Tainan to its former glory in an effort to capitalize on its historic and cultural importance.
“We hereby welcome the new birth of this city,” he said in his inaugural speech, adding that the merger of Tainan City and Tainan County into Greater Tainan will allow the new municipality to use its unique features to transform itself into a special city.
Minister without Portfolio Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗) presided over the swearing-in ceremony of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) rising star.
In his 13-minute speech, Lai expressed his gratitude to former Tainan mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) and former Tainan County commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) for their work during the past nine years.
However, neither Hsu nor Su made an appearance at the ceremony.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), former premier Yu Shyi-kun and former Presidential Office secretary-general Mark Chen (陳唐山) were also on hand to witness the event as special guests.
On his last day in office on Friday, Su hosted a farewell party at the County Hall and said “Tainan County” will always stay in the hearts of its residents.
Hsu, meanwhile, said he has set up an office called “Hsu Tain-tsair Office” and will continue to care for issues that pertain to people’s well-being and happiness.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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