TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan launched its new Ministry of Environment on Tuesday (Aug. 22), 36 years to the day after the founding of its predecessor, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).
In a speech at the official ceremony, President Tsai Ing-wen (???) emphasized the role the new body would play in improving the quality of life and working towards a zero-emission society, CNA reported. She also praised its first minister, Shieu Fuh-sheng (???), for his efforts in promoting the study of the circular economy during eight years as president of National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) in Taichung City.
The new minister named climate change as a priority for his future work at the ministry, per the Liberty Times. While the EPA managed and controlled pollution, the new body would take a more preventive approach, he said, while also working to implement the government goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Shieu received a materials science and engineering Ph.D. from Cornell University, and joined Taichung-based NCHU in 1993. The last EPA minister, Chang Tzi-chin (???), will remain in the cabinet as a minister without portfolio.
The Ministry of Environment was the second new ministry to be created this year, after the Council of Agriculture (COA) was upgraded to the Ministry of Agriculture on Aug. 1.
