When Taipei City Bureau of Health (BOH) Director Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞) was scolded yesterday by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), one of her major backers, yesterday, it marked her lowest point in the battle against SARS.
"I have already reprimanded Chiou and asked her to improve supervision," Ma said during the press conference yesterday regarding the administrative error made by bureau Secretary-General Hsiao Tung-ming (
This was the first time ever Ma expressed dissatisfaction in public toward Chiou's performance as the city's anti-SARS commander.
Meanwhile, anti-SARS expert Professor Yeh Chin-chuan also rebuked Chiou two days ago. Yeh is Chiou's predecessor, and it was he who originally recommended her for the directorship.
"Punish those who should be punished, and it's only right to do it quickly," Yeh said to Chiou.
The show of disapproval by a host of top guns may indicate that Chiou's status as Ma's star pupil has started to crumble.
Just two weeks earlier when Chiou handed in her resignation, Ma firmly asked her to stay, and shielded her from the media's and the city council's fierce attacks.
But now, especially after both the heads of the Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control were sacked and new directors installed, Ma finally seems to have stretched his protective wings too wide, and he may not be able or willing to shelter Chiou anymore.
While internal rifts appear to be forming, Chiou has long been criticized by the media.
The media's discontent rose to a new height on the same day Yeh let loose his temper, and almost all major papers trimmed Chiou's coattails yesterday.
First there was the strong contrast between the severe punishment of certificate revoking for the head of Jen Chi Hospital Liao Cheng-hsiung (
Although the Taipei City Government insisted that the decisions regarding how a doctor should be punished were made by an independent doctor's disciplinary board, no one really bought it.
Taipei City Government has been fairly quick and resolute to dish out fines and other forms of punishment to Jen Chi Hospital, which is privately owned, and Taipei Municipal Gandau Hospital, which is administered by Taipei Veterans General Hospital instead of the BOH.
On the other hand, when it came to any neglagence at the bureau's own Hoping, the government expressed hesitance to tread upon the subject.
Then there was the matter of Chiou's reluctance to deal with Hsiao's faults, and the fact of Chiou missing out on Hoping's punishment notice.
During the press conference, even a reporter who was known to be a Ma administration supporter lost her patience with what she perceives as Chiou's unpersuasive answers. She lashed out at Chiou, questioning Chiou with ferocity matching an opposing city councilor.
Last week Chiou also enraged another reporter from a major newspaper by declaring publicly the SARS chronicle printed by the paper was full of mistakes without being able to identify even one single error.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS