Center for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Su Ih-jen (
Department of Health (DOH) Director-General Chen Chien-jen (
"It's a very burdensome job," Su said. "With the pressure to push through the amendments to the Center for Disease Control Organic Law (
Su became teary eyed during the press conference to announce his resignation and broke up when saying he was proud to have played a role during a national health crisis.
early departure
Having taken up the position in May with the specific task of controlling the SARS epidemic, Su said he had originally planned to leave after completing one year with the CDC.
"I thought I could at least hold my position until March 20 and leave after the presidential election," Su said.
But Su cited a possible heart condition as his reason for wanting to resign.
He also said that if the Center for Disease Control Organic Law passed in the Legislative Yuan, it would be better for his successor to have a hand in the process of reorganizing the CDC.
"The position of CDC director-general requires professional expertise and is not about politics," Su said.
Su wants Jan. 18 to be his last day at work. He will take a few days off to have his heart condition diagnosed.
Chen said he had not yet considered other candidates for Su's position and wanted to see Su's health reports before making a decision.
`number one choice'
"We are like brothers, so if he really is sick, then I won' t force him to stay on, but at this point he is still the DOH's number one choice for the position," Chen said.
Su stressed the importance of the amendments to the organic law, slated to be voted on in the legislature today.
The CDC's revisions of the law include the establishment of an Infection Prevention Medical Care Network that would designate specific hospitals in each city and county with the task of treating patients with infectious diseases.
Su also said the law would allow more doctors and doctorate-level researchers to work at the CDC, bypassing current regulations requiring that select CDC employees take civil service exams.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
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
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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at