Minister of Environment Shieu Fuh-sheng (薛富盛) on Wednesday said he is to step down after the May 20 inauguration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) next month.
Fifteen members of the Lai administration’s Cabinet have been named so far, but no appointment has been announced for environmental minister, leading to speculation that Shieu, who oversaw the agency’s upgrade into a ministry in August last year, might stay on after Lai takes office.
However, speaking to reporters ahead of a legislative committee hearing on Wednesday, Shieu said he would not be continuing as minister after May 20, and would instead return to academia.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
As he would be aged 65 next year, Shieu said he planned to return to National Chung Hsing University and apply to postpone his retirement, so that he can continue teaching and researching.
At the hearing, Shieu was asked what he saw as the three most important issues that his successor would face.
He said that one major task would be the implementation of Taiwan’s new carbon fee system, as well as reducing carbon emissions as the country looks to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Taiwan’s carbon fee program was initiated this year, and is to assess yet-to-be-announced carbon fee rates based on emissions this year, with payments due next year, similar to the income tax.
The new minister would also have to focus on reducing plastic use, Shieu said, adding that the UN is expected to reach a binding agreement on plastic pollution by the end of this year.
The ministry would also have to find logistical solutions for the nation’s waste processing issues, particularly in the short term as several incinerators in the country undergo repairs and upgrades, he said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS