Former Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) specially appointed deputy minister Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) resigned for “family reasons,” and the council’s deputy minister, Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉) was appointed to Chang’s position, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday.
Chang also resigned as vice chairman and secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation, a position he held concurrently since February when the semi-official agency’s deputy head Kao Koong-lain (高孔廉) left the job.
A meeting of the foundation’s boards and supervisors is to be convened to approve appointments for vice chairman and secretary-general, with Lin and another vice chairman of the foundation, Ma Shaw-chang (馬紹章), speculated to be possible candidates.
Lin, who has a degree from the Department of Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, was previously a professor of economics at National Chengchi University. He was in charge of issues related to cross-strait trade and economic and regional economic integration since he was appointed the council’s deputy minister in November 2012.
Since then, he was involved in negotiations with China leading to the signing of the cross-strait service trade agreement in June last year.
The Chinese-language United Daily Evening News reported yesterday that Chang decided to quit to look after his aged mother in his hometown in Greater Taichung.
Foundation Deputy Secretary-General Shih Hui-fen (施惠芬) was appointed to fill the position left vacant by Lin, the Executive Yuan said in a statement, which included other reshuffles to the Ministry of Education and the Council of Hakka Affairs.
Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages president Lucia Lin (林思伶) is to succeed Chen Der-hwa (陳德華) as deputy minister of education, and Council of Hakka Affairs Department of Culture and Education Director Fan Tso-ming (范佐銘) was promoted to deputy minister of the council, the statement said.
The position of labor minister was not yet filled after Pan Shi-wei (潘世偉) resigned over allegations of an extramarital affair three weeks ago, the statement added.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
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