The Executive Yuan is to postpone the reorganization of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) into a national science council, which was originally scheduled to launch at the end of this month, a Cabinet official said yesterday.
The council was expected to be the first of the new governmental agencies to be created under the Act for Adjustment of Functions and Organizations of the Executive Yuan (行政院功能業務與組織調整條例), which lawmakers passed in December last year.
The Cabinet has delayed MOST’s reorganization due to complications in personnel appointments stemming from an ongoing effort to create a digital development ministry, an official familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
The appointments for the digital development ministry and the national science council are interlinked and delays in one affect the progress of the other, they said.
Although Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) is widely considered to be the Cabinet’s favored pick for digital development minister, no decision has been made and none is likely to be made before June, they said.
Minister Without Portfolio Kuo Yau-hwang (郭耀煌) has garnered significant support in his bid to become the digital development minister, but is likely to be offered another post, they said.
A lot of work still needs to be done before the digital development ministry can be activated, especially with regard to personnel transfers and project handoffs, they added.
The Cabinet has not made a decision with regard to the nomination for national science council minister, which would be a minister without portfolio post, they said.
The national science council is envisioned to play a significant role in the entire supply chain of Taiwan’s technology sector instead of wielding influence only upstream, which had been a weakness of the MOST, they said.
The council would coordinate with other ministries and agencies to increase the efficiency of government programs, they said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
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