Premier-designate Tang Fei (
Economist Lo Fu-chuan (
With the Cabinet-building now completed, President-elect Chen Shui-bian (
Chen, Tang and the new Cabinet will take office on May 20.
Chen Po-chih was yesterday reported as having agreed to the nomination as chairman of the CEPD, which acts as an official think tank to advise the government on economic planning, and a coordinator between different ministries in promoting crucial cross-agency policies.
The completed financial and economic team includes Lin Chuan (
The incoming CEPD head is believed to have had a close relationship with both outgoing President Lee Teng-hui (
He has also been a principle architect of the so-called "no haste, be patient (
He told reporters yesterday, however, that there was a need to review and rectify the policy due to the government's efforts to enter the WTO. But he insisted that the policy should not be abolished.
In related news, Schive Chi (
Hsia, the incumbent head of the AEC's research institute on nuclear energy, is to become the AEC's chairman, an appointment confirmed by government spokesman-designate Chung Ching (
According to Chung, Hsia received a PhD in nuclear engineering from MIT and has worked for the AEC for more than 10 years.
Another important appointment in the foreign relations field is also reportedly about to be confirmed.
Lo, an academic at the UN University in Japan, is likely to take over for Chuang Ming-yao (莊銘耀), secretary general-designate of National Security Council, as representative to Japan.
DPP lawmaker Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) was quoted as saying yesterday that Lo has served in the UN to resolve economic issues in developing Asian countries and is therefore familiar in political circles in many Asian countries.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
OTHER OPTIONS: Given possible US intervention and Taiwanese counterattacks, China might opt to blockade Taiwan or take its outlying islands instead of an all-out invasion A US think tank has urged Taiwan to adopt a “hellscape” strategy that would flood the Taiwan Strait with drones and other uncrewed systems to deter invasion by China. In its report, Hellscape for Taiwan, published on Thursday, the Center for a New American Security said Taipei’s asymmetric defense approach — often described as a “porcupine strategy” — needs to evolve to keep pace with the growing capabilities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The “hellscape” strategy involves saturating the air and waters around Taiwan with thousands of drones and other platforms capable of striking invading forces from multiple domains at once. Long-range
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