Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) on Tuesday agreed to take up the post of Presidential Office secretary-general, a source close to the matter said, adding that Chen would assume office by the end of the month.
The office is to confirm the appointment after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) returns from an official visit to Swaziland this month, the source said.
The source, a prominent member of the pan-green camp, said that Chen is expected to act as a “barrel hoop” that will tie everyone in the office together.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
“Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) once referred to Chen as ‘sister Chu,’ which she found shocking,” the source said, adding that Chen was humbled by the reference.
“Being addressed in this way shows there is a great deal of respect for Chen” within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the source said.
Upon hearing news of the appointment, several DPP members expressed approval, with some saying that they feel Chen demonstrates a clear sense of responsibility toward the nation.
Asked about the rumored appointment, Presidential Office spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) said: “The president holds the position [of office secretary-general] in high regard. When the appointment is finalized, there will be a formal announcement.”
Asked for comment, Chen told reporters: “You will need to ask the Presidential Office. If there is any new information, there will definitely be a formal announcement.”
Chen on Monday spoke at a news conference announcing Kaohsiung’s successful bid to host the 10th annual International e-Sports Federation competition in November. Reporters at the news conference seized the opportunity to ask Chen about the appointment.
“A soldier does not have the right to choose their battlefield, they go where they are needed,” she said, adding that she would do what is necessary for the nation’s development, as well as the needs of the party.
DPP Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said that Chen and Tsai get along “like sisters,” adding that Chen is highly trusted by the president.
Chen is able to help Tsai with issues she would prefer not to deal with, particularly in areas involving interpersonal affairs, Lai said.
Chen is also able to be very direct with Tsai, he said, adding that this would be helpful to the administration.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS