As Premier Yu Shyi-kun officially approved the resignations of Minister of Finance Lee Yung-san (李庸三) and Council of Agriculture Chairman Fan Chen-tsung (范振宗) yesterday, Yu said that he needs time to find their successors.
In the meantime, Vice Minister of Finance Sam Wang (
The Cabinet is scheduled to hold an agricultural summit on Saturday to discuss agricultural financing and the consolidation of grassroots credit units, after which it may make an announcement on who will fill the vacant positions.
The Cabinet may also wait until after the Dec. 7 Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral and city council elections to make the announcement.
Yu, paying his respects to the late mother of the editor in chief of the Liberty Times at the municipal Taipei No. 1 Funeral Parlor (
"I don't think their absence will pose any problem for the summit because the date has been set and the invitations have been sent out," he said. "Besides, their [Lee's and Fan's] deputies are supposed to take up their job when they're away."
Leading candidates to succeed Fan include Hsinchu County Commissioner Lin Kuang-hua (
Fan said yesterday that he had recommended Lin Kuang-hua to the premier as a potential successor.
Chen Chih-yuan dismissed media speculation that he is on the list of potential successors.
"It's impossible," he said. "Nobody has ever contacted me about the matter. Besides, what do you expect me to tell my immediate supervisor and colleagues if I take up the job?" he said.
Chen also took the opportunity to call on the media to cool down.
"As the premier said, he needs some time to think about it and find the most appropriate person. Until then, all this is mere media speculation," he said.
Chen was promoted to his current position on Aug. 5 from commission member, a position he had held since February last year.
Potential successors to Lee include Minister without Portfolio Hu Sheng-cheng (
While Hu refused to comment on personnel changes, Sean Chen dismissed speculation that the government has contacted him regarding the vacancy.
Sean Chen's visit to Lin Tzong-yeong yesterday morning prompted speculation about whether the two were discussing the Cabinet reshuffle.
Chen, however, said that their talk "had nothing to do with the new position."
Wang, who answered to the legislature's finance committee on behalf of Lee Yung-san, said that he knows nothing about potential candidates to replace Lee and that no one has approached him about taking over the position.
Also see story:
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS