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.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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