Incoming premier Yu Shyi-kun appointed several familiar faces to his Cabinet lineup yesterday, among them popular Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
Other returning players include Chen Chu (
Also staying in their posts are Wang Chun (
Yu yesterday named former Kaohsiung County commissioner Yu Cheng-hsien (
Former Hsinchu County commissioner Fan Chen-tsung (
Yu is expected to announce 12 more appointments today, including the minister of eduction and the head of the Council for Cultural Affairs.
The appointments will conclude tomorrow with the appointments for the Ministries of Transportation and Communications, Finance and Economic Affairs.
Speculation was rife that Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀) would hang on to her job as chairwoman of the Council for Cultural Affairs.
Huang Jung-tsun (黃榮村), currently a minister without portfolio, is the leading candidate to replace Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗) as minister of education.
Yu is still searching for a minister of economic affairs after Christine Tsung (
Lin Lin-san (林陵三), vice minister of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, might be promoted and given the reins of that agency.
Addressing reporters at the Presidential Office, Yu said that the new Cabinet members appointed yesterday had two characteristics in common: professionalism and extensive political experience.
"It looks as if we have an `ex-county commissioner club' here," Yu said. "Don't belittle them. Each and every one of them has solid public support behind them and possesses extensive political experience as a local government chief."
Yu noted that four of the appointments unveiled yesterday are former local government heads. Yu Cheng-hsien is a two-term Kaohsiung county commissioner; Chen Ding-nan served two terms as Ilan County commissioner; Fan Chen-tsung served two terms as Hsinchu County commissioner; and Chen Chien-nien is also two-term Taitung County commissioner.
Yu yesterday again dismissed talk that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had chosen Cabinet members on his behalf. "None of the officials appointed today had been received nor contacted by the President before taking the job," the incoming premier said.
But Chen Chien-nien let slip that he had met with the president on Jan. 16 to talk about the position of chairman of the Council of Aboriginal Affairs.
The KMT's Chen said yesterday he was willing to accept any punishment given him by his party, which has refused to allow members to serve in the DPP government.
"For the sake of indigenous people and the entire nation, I've decided to put national interests before politics," Chen said.
Yu also dismissed the chance of the premier concurrently holding the DPP chairmanship, an idea current DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) proposed on Monday.
"It's never crossed my mind and I've never planned to do so," he said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
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