New Party convener Hau Lung-bin (
Hau, a legislator and head of the New Party's Central Policymaking Committee, said that though his political stance and ideology were at odds with the DPP's, he would join the Cabinet to prove that the New Party "really loves Taiwan."
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"President Chen Shui-bian (
Hau was invited by Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
"I told the premier and the president that I will not change my political stance on issues such as [Taiwan's] statehood and cross-strait policy, to satisfy the DPP's ideology [on advocating independence]" Hau said.
"I also told them that I will consistently support the continued construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and that I will oppose a plebiscite on the issue ... unless the Legislative Yuan passes a [referendum] law," Hau said.
Hau, whose party is ardently unificationist and has in recent years become little more than a mouthpiece for Beijing, said that the president promised to give him free rein as the new EPA chief.
"The New Party has consistently voiced its concern for Taiwan's environmental protection and now I can realize my party's ideals through this opportunity," Hau said.
Hau was asked to join the Cabinet when the DPP took power in May, but he refused an invitation from then-premier Tang Fei (唐飛).
Hau said previously that if he took over as head of the EPA, he would have to resign as convener within the New Party and give up his seat in the legislature.
Meanwhile, the premier yesterday continued to consult with close advisors and the president to decide a final list of names for the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle.
"The heads of the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) and National Science Council (NSC) will be replaced," said a senior aide to the president, who refused to be named. The source added that Wei Che-he (
"As to whether to nominate a new education minister to succeed Ovid Tzeng (
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
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