In a near-completion of what has proved no easy task in building the skeleton of the new DPP-led government, President-elect Chen Shui-bian (
At the same time, Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) announced that the ad hoc National Policy Advisory Committee he headed -- which held its third meeting yesterday -- had decided to disband, having completed its task in assisting Chen in building a new government.
Among those confirmed yesterday, Shea Jia-dong (
Trained as an economist, the 52-year-old Shea has worked as a research fellow at Academia Sinica and taught at National Taiwan University before taking up his present position in 1996.
Ovid J.L. Tzeng (
DPP legislator Yeh Chu-lan (
Two ministers without portfo-lio were also confirmed, including Wu Rong-ming (
Also invited to serve was Huang Jong-tsun (黃榮村), a psychology professor at National Taiwan University and an active education reformist. Previous reports had tipped Huang to be a possible candidate for Minister of Education.
Mayor of Tainan Mark Chen (
The new Coast Guard Administration, meanwhile, will be led by Wang Chun (王郡), the incumbent National Police Administration deputy director.
Wang had previously headed the seventh police peace preservation corps -- the predecessor of the now defunct marine police department -- as well as the Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Kaohsiung City Police Administration.
Army General Yang Teh-chih (
Among the appointments still awaiting confirmation were aerospace specialist Kuo Ching-chiang (
On the appointments of vice ministerial positions, DPP legislator Tsai Ming-hsien (
The difficult decisions over the Cabinet appointments have triggered speculation in the media of disagreement between Chen and Tang Fei. The premier-designate yesterday, however, dismissed the rumors as unfounded.Alos See Mark Chen Inside
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
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