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 (
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
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‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
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