With the imminent hospitalization of Premier-designate Tang Fei, the schedule for the nomination of President-elect Chen Shui-bian's new Cabinet has been moved up.
Yesterday, a flurry of confirmations, refusals and continued speculation kept the media guessing, while providing new surprises in the emerging line-up.
Among those confirmed as having agreed to take up future posts in the first-ever DPP-led central government, veteran DPP lawmaker and former Ilan County Commissioner Chen Ting-nan (
Chang Fu-mei (
The future Cabinet will also see fresh faces in new ministries, such as Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀), a senior National Taiwan Normal University academic, who agreed yesterday to her nomination as head of the future Council for Cultural Affairs.
Former DPP Chairman Yao Chia-wen (
Another favored candidate -- for the post of Atomic Energy Council chairman -- was reported last night as being Kuo Ching-chiang (
One apparently tough choice has been over the post of minister of the interior, considered to be one of the key posts under the premier. Sources said yesterday that Chen and Tang have each offered different choices and that debate continues over who should be appointed.
Tang has pushed for the nomination of James Soong (
Reports surfaced last night that Tang has agreed to give Chang the job.
One apparent disappointment for the new team, however, has been over the minister of finance, after Lin Jong-shong(
Another refusal came yesterday from the secretary-general of the National Security Council, Yin Tsung-wen (
Yin issued a statement on Tuesday that he has no intention of staying on at his position, citing health reasons.
In response, President-elect Chen Shui-bian (
Chen made the response yesterday after he and Vice President-elect Annette Lu (
Later, however, reports emerged stating that Chuang Min-yao (
Chuang is a career naval officer and served as national policy adviser to President Lee Teng-hui (
His position is expected to be filled by current Council for Economic Planning and Development Chairman Chiang Ping-kung (江丙坤), who previously served as the commercial attach? in Japan from 1967-74.
However, Chiang denied the reports yesterday, saying he has no plans to leave Taiwan because of his involvement in 921 earthquake reconstruction.
Speaking at yesterday's NSC briefing, Chen also said he planned to overhaul the country's national security system -- from a shake-up of chief positions to a change in the composition of the council's advisory members.
Chen said the succession of political power is not simply a formality. It was, he said, a direct transfer of policies which had been set in motion by the former government, especially in affairs related to national defense, intelligence, and diplomacy.
Meanwhile, yesterday KMT spokesman Jason Hu (
Hu said he has not been approached by the new government and would nevertheless decline the position.
Responding to the fact that more KMT members are likely to join the new Cabinet following Tang Fei, KMT secretary general Lin Fong-cheng (
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,