Premier-designate Yu Shyi-kun yesterday presented his fourth and final round of Cabinet appointees, including the new economic affairs and finance ministers, completing the reshuffled Cabinet which is to be sworn in on Feb. 1.
Lee Yung-shan (
Christine Tsung (
"Expertise, personality and suitability are my main criteria for making the nominations," Yu said, downplaying media speculation that Lee's appointment was a decision made overnight.
Just hours before midnight on Wednesday, Benny Hu (
But according to local media reports, Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) -- Hu's former boss and current chairman of the CDIB -- opposed the appointment, prompting Yu and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to reconsider their choice and turn to former president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) finance wizard.
Yu stressed yesterday that he had the final say on all Cabinet appointments.
The new finance minister had turned down the offer at least three times before he finally agreed to take the post, Yu said.
Flatly denying that cronyism was also part of the decision-making process for the economic affairs and finance posts, Yu said that his ideal candidates were those with "a combination of industrial, academic and governmental backgrounds."
Assuring the media that they are suited for their new posts, Lee and Tsung yesterday outlined their qualifications for the tasks they have been assigned.
"My widespread contacts within the banking sector and academic circles will facilitate my future role as a bridge between the government and the private sector," Lee said.
Tsung said: "In the US, I had 15 years of experience working for the high-tech industry, a steel company and other traditional industries including the manufacturing sector."
Tsung added that she would soon relinquish her US citizenship before taking office.
Praising his successor, vice premier-designate Lin Hsin-yi (
Lin said he believed the two appointees would serve the people of Taiwan with a "customer-orientated" attitude.
Lee, 63, who holds a PhD in economics from the University of Wisconsin, had previously served as president of Chiao Tung Bank (交通銀行) and director of the Institute of Economics at Academia Sinica.
Tsung, 54, earned an MBA from the University of Missouri and studied management for one year at Washington University's graduate school before she worked as a marketing manager with Columbia Pictures and subsequently deputy CEO with US consumer-electronics company Electrolux.
She also served as a finance officer for the city government of Poway, near San Diego, California.
Other appointments yesterday included Lin Lin-san (林陵三) -- who will be promoted from vice minister to head up the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
Meanwhile, Lin's predecessor Yeh Chu-lan (
Incoming Minister without Portfolio Kuo Yao-chi (
Hu Sheng-cheng (
Ouyang Min-shen (
Altogether Yu's new Cabinet contains 39 members, of which 23 posts have changed hands and 16 have been retained by members of the previous Cabinet. With an average age of 53, 31 are male and eight are female.Also See Stories:
Observers say DPP gaining confidence
Newsmakers: Huang returns to education fold
Newsmakers: New GIO head boasts diverse experience
Editorial: Economics picks boost confidence
New MOEA chief turns some heads
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
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
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
RSS