Opposition lawmakers come to Tzeng's side

While Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) considered his Cabinet reshuffle, opposition lawmakers yesterday mounted a campaign to save Minister of Education Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗), who is widely expected to be replaced.

Meanwhile, angry employees from state-run Taiwan Power Company (Taipower, 台電) demanded the resignation of Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-i (林信義), whom the government is thought to be inclined to keep.

Calling the ongoing education reform a painstaking effort, KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said it would be ill-advised to change the top education official.

"Responsible and dynamic, Tzeng has done an impressive job since taking office nine months ago," Hung said. She added that Tzeng, a political independent and distinguished scholar, joined the government because President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had "begged him."

The minister has been in a dispute with the ruling DPP over Taiwan's choice of Mandarin romanization systems and is likely to be removed for his "nonconformist" style of stewardship.

"Having made no mistakes thus far, Tzeng should not be sacked," Hung said. More than 10 colleagues, including one from the DPP, have signed a petition supporting Tzeng.

In a public appearance, Tzeng expressed confidence that he would remain in his post after the reshuffle but admitted that the rumors had affected his morale. "Whatever I do, I do it out of professional judgment," Tzeng said, dismissing as untrue reports that he disagrees with more senior colleagues over key policy goals.

"I challenge the rumormongers to come forward and elaborate on the alleged disagreements," Tzeng said.

Lee Shang-ren (李先仁), another KMT lawmaker, also lent his support to Tzeng, saying that the minister enjoyed extensive support among the public, a fact that would help his department to more easily secure funding.

People First Party Legislator Diane Lee (李慶安) ascribed what she tagged as Tzeng's supposedly tenuous position in his robust bid to straighten out suspicious practices involving the boards of certain private schools, in which distinguished scholars with DPP affiliations have been implicated.

Although she backs Tzeng, Diane Lee shied away from adding her name to the signature drive, saying she did not want to interfere in the Cabinet's affairs.

On Friday, Premier Chang told the Legislative Yuan he would give the Cabinet a partial facelift by March 10. Yesterday he met Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南), governor of the Central Bank of China. Sources said that Perng was likely to replace Minister of Finance Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章).

The DPP-led government has been at a loss to curb the economy's decline and the rise of the unemployment rate.

Economics minister Lin Hsin-i, who has recommended and has continued to defend the scrapping of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四), will most likely remain at his post, the sources said.

But a worker's organization from Taipower, the public utility overseeing construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, has continued to call for his dismissal.

"Lin should step down to take the blame for the halting of work on the power plant," Chen Meng-jung (陳夢榮), the union leader, said during a news conference yesterday.

According to Chen, the 110-day suspension of the plant's construction cost the nation NT$3.5 billion in interest and other payments.

The economics minister has suggested that Taipower absorb the sum through belt-tightening among other potential measures.