Council for Hakka Affairs Chair-woman Yeh Chu-lan (
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) also agreed to take up the position of Cabinet spokesman.
In other Cabinet appointments, Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) and Council of Labor Affairs Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊) will stay in their posts.
Meanwhile, Lin Chia-cheng (林嘉誠), chairman of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, will return to academia.
In other appointments, Minister without Portfolio Arthur Iap (葉國興) is being considered as a replacement for Cabinet Secretary-General Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳), who is looking at studying overseas.
DPP Legislator Chiu Tai-san (
Outgoing Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (
"We'd like to see that at least a quarter of high-ranking Cabinet officials [about nine] are women," Lin said. "Of course, it depends on the wishes of each individual."
On Monday, Changhua County Commissioner Wong Chin-chu (
Yeh Chu-lan told reporters after her meeting with the premier yesterday that she would push herself to do a good job.
Yeh, a 55-year-old of Hakka decent, was appointed to head the Council for Hakka Affairs when the council was established in 2002. She served as a DPP lawmaker from 1990 to 2000. She was appointed minister of transportation and communications in 2000.
According to Lin Chia-lung, the premier extended the invitation to Yeh mid-month but Yeh did not accept the offer until April 18. The premier obtained her official consent yesterday.
The 40-year-old Chen Chi-mai, who has been a DPP lawmaker since 1995, told reporters yesterday afternoon that he felt both happy and worried about his new job.
"While I'm happy about a career change, I'm also worried about how to do a good job as a government spokesperson," he said. "A lawmaker, who enjoys the prerogative of speech immunity, doesn't have to worry too much about the accuracy of his criticism or charges. But a government spokesman does."
Describing himself as a greenhorn in the executive branch, Chen Chi-mai said he will strive to be pro-active and honest in his new job.
Although the NT$2 million annual budget of the spokesman's office was completely struck out by the legislature, Chen Chi-mai said he was more concerned about making a contribution to the country.
"Financially I've been counting on my wife, who is a medical doctor, over the years and I don't think she'd mind doing it a little bit longer," he joked.
Chen Chi-mai, a native of Kaohsiung, dismissed speculation that he would run for mayor of the city next year.
"It's not part of my career plan at the moment," he said. "My deepest concern is how to do a good job in my new position."
He also said Lin Chia-lung might head the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission to replace Lin Chia-cheng, who told the premier in person yesterday morning that he would like to resume teaching at Soochow University.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
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