Premier-designate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) unveiled most of the new Cabinet yesterday as the Chen administration attempted to ease tensions with both China and opposition parties at home.
In his first meeting with the international media since being appointed premier, the Kaohsiung mayor set a moderate tone for dealing with Beijing.
"I think it is essential to improve the atmosphere between the two sides," Hsieh said. "We should stop policies or language that provoke one another. My administration should be consistent and predictable, to move toward reconciliation and cooperation."
Hsieh takes charge of the Cabinet at a crucial time in cross-strait relations, with Beijing poised to enact an anti-secession law in March that the government fears will give China a legal basis to attack Taiwan.
"I don't think it is necessary to provoke mainland China, verbally or with our behavior," Hsieh said.
Hsieh said that he would only ask state companies to drop the word "China" from their names if there was a practical reason -- such as avoiding confusion with Chinese firms -- thus reining in the more aggressive approach to the matter adopted by outgoing Premier Yu Shyi-kun.
"I received a lot of challenges from pro-independence leaders regarding this issue but I will do it anyway," Hsieh said.
"I think the Cabinet can suggest practical policies, like the Lunar New Year charter flights, or other measures such as cooperating on a crackdown on cross-strait crime," he said, when asked how he could help improve cross-strait relations.
Direct charter flights are set to commence today, which are hoped will lead to better cross-strait communication.
"The charter flights are a very good example for improving cross-strait relations. We started with consultation and helped decrease tensions," Hsieh said.
During a tea party held yesterday for the new Cabinet, Hsieh named 2005 "a year for Taiwan's health."
"Every year should have a name and a goal for development," Hsieh said. "I think the whole of Taiwan's society has been under a lot of pressure. Everyone needs to reduce pressure and make life happier, so I have named this year `a year for Taiwan's health.'"
Hsieh said the new Cabinet will focus on communication and dialogue with local governments, the legislature and within the ministries.
The government would also improve services and increase convenience for the public, Hsieh said.
"The reason a government exists is to serve the public, isn't it," he added.
Hsieh confirmed that Vice Premier Yeh Chu-lan (
Two confirmed additions to the Cabinet are Minister of Justice-designate Morley Shih (
Reports also said that Democratic Progressive Party Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) would become Cabinet secretary-general, but Hsieh said that he had no knowledge of the matter.
Hsieh said that the post of vice premier was still open, and he said he had not given up on the possibility of naming an opposition figure as his deputy.
He added that he would announce the names of the vice premier, the secretary-general and other posts on Monday.
"In the past, it was easy to just yell at one another. But now we have to cooperate, we have to find a new model of working together," Hsieh said.
Hsieh had invited Deputy Legislative Speaker Chiang Pin-kun (
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)