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:
EYE ON 2027: The US military has placed equipment, materiel and personnel on the islands near China, a US officer said while warning about the threat from China The US Army Pacific (USARPAC) is deploying forces and equipment across the region based on the assumption that Beijing could possess the military capability and the intent to invade Taiwan by next year, a top US commander said on Tuesday. Speaking at the TechNet Indo-Pacific conference in Honolulu, US General Ronald Clark said that the threat posed by the so-called “Davidson window” is “still valid,” US military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported on Wednesday. The term stems from a 2021 warning by Admiral Philip Davidson, then-head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, that the threat of Chinese military action against Taiwan could materialize
Taiwan and Japan might sign a wide-ranging trade agreement by the end of this year, which could help break a deadlock in Taiwan’s trade diplomacy if completed, Nikkei Asia reported yesterday. Japan is negotiating with the administration of President William Lai (賴清德) to reach a comprehensive economic agreement modeled after the Enhanced Trade Partnership Arrangement finalized by the UK and Taiwan in 2023, it said, citing two sources familiar with the matter. “The Enhanced Trade Partnership between the UK and Taiwan sets a precedent for Japan to follow,” one of the sources told the media outlet. The framework leaves room for future agreements
‘ONE CHINA’ DECISION: A Cabinet spokesperson said that Pakistan had pandered to Beijing, and disregarded international rules and reality with the overflight ban The first Taiwanese commercial aircraft since restrictions were lifted flew over Pakistan yesterday morning following an abrupt U-turn by authorities to approve permits that were briefly revoked due to Islamabad’s “one China” policy. EVA Airways (長榮航空) Flight 65 from Taipei to Vienna entered Pakistani airspace at about 3:30am local time, Flightradar24 tracking data showed. All other Europe-bound EVA Air and China Airlines (華航) flights that departed late on Wednesday night into early yesterday morning opted to use Russian airspace, or go via India. The airlines had been forced to detour, including flying over Russia, since Sunday, after Pakistan shut its airspace to Taiwanese
Chinese national Cheng Wanjun (程萬軍), who was at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport after arriving on a connecting flight from Thailand on Monday and sought asylum in Taiwan, was deported to Thailand early yesterday, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said. In a video circulating on X, Cheng identified himself as a former host at China Central Television (CCTV) and said he was seeking temporary humanitarian protection in Taiwan. Cheng said he was sentenced to six years in prison after he was recorded and reported to authorities in 2019 for criticizing “a ruler who loses his country.” After his release, he was forced to go
RSS