Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday demanded that Minister Without Portfolio Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) report to the Legislative Yuan when it reviews technology-related budget proposals.
Lawmakers on the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday met to review the budget proposals submitted by the Ministry of Science and Technology for the next fiscal year.
While technology policy is mainly made by the ministry, its proposals are subject to review by the Board of Science and Technology, but Wu, who is one of the board’s deputy conveners, has never reported to the committee, KMT Legislator Chiang Nai-shin (蔣乃辛) said.
NT$1.8 billion (US$58.5 million) of the ministry’s NT$30 billion budget for technology development is allocated to the board and should be frozen until Wu answers lawmakers’ questions, Chiang said.
Responding to lawmakers’ questions, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said that both he and Wu are the board’s deputy conveners under Premier William Lai (賴清德) and that the ministry is fully responsible for carrying out technology-related policy.
While the board’s executive secretary, Tsai Zse-hong (蔡志宏), appeared before the committee after it requested a higher-ranking official, the committee decided to put off reviewing the board’s budget until Wu reports to the committee.
Fielding questions about the ministry’s proposed third space program from next year to 2028, Chen said that review by the Executive Yuan is taking longer than expected due to differences in opinion, so it might not start until 2020.
Some hold the view that the ministry should focus on seeking technological breakthroughs in space technology, while others say developing commercially viable technology is a priority, Chen said.
The ministry is more inclined to pursue breakthroughs and the third space program would outline plans to develop synthetic aperture radar systems that facilitate satellite imaging through heavy cloud cover, Chen added.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man
RSS