Premier-designate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday announced more Cabinet appointments, but in an attempt to improve relations with the opposition, the important post of vice premier has been left vacant for the time being.
Hsieh said the vacancy allows the DPP more leverage in forging reconciliation with the pan-blue camp.
Hsieh said he was grateful for outgoing Vice Premier Yeh Chu-lan's (
But because political parties are busy with today's election for legislative and deputy legislative speaker, Hsieh said, the atmosphere is presently not conducive to cross-party reconciliation.
The appointments announced yesterday included Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (
Other appointments include Chang Chun-yen (張俊彥), secretary-general of the Kaohsiung City Government, who will become director-general of the Central Personnel Administration.
Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Lin Yung-chien (
Hsieh is scheduled to take over from Premier Yu Shyi-kun at a Cabinet meeting today. Hsieh will then lead the new Cabinet officials in taking their oaths of office.
Hsieh yesterday praised Lee Ying-yuan's extensive experience and negotiating and communication skills.
This is the second time Lee Ying-yuan has been appointed as the Cabinet's secretary-general. Valued for his negotiation skills, the 52-year-old PhD-holder in health economics from the University of North Carolina was first appointed to the post by Yu in January 2002.
He was in the post for less than a year before stepping down to run as a DPP candidate against Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Lee Ying-yuan was a legislator and Taiwan's deputy representative to the US before taking up the posts of Cabinet secretary-general and DPP secretary-general.
Hsieh yesterday also noted Chang Chun-yen's experience in the civil sector. Chang, who will fill the secretary-general's post vacated by Lee Yi-yang (
He had also been the Tainan City Government's financial affairs chief and a Kaohsiung Bank chairman.
As for Lin Yung-chien, Hsieh said he had been aware of Lin's performance as Kaohsiung deputy mayor in the last few years.
As vice minister of the interior, Hsieh said, Lin would assist the Cabinet in the handling of regional affairs.
Lee Chin-yung replaces Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文隆) as vice chairman of the Public Construction Commission.
Hsieh said that as a lawyer-turned-politician, Lee Chin-yung would be able to professionally supervise the commission's procurement and BOT projects. Cheng will move to Kaohsiung to take up the deputy mayor's post.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
EXCEPTIONS: Some people could be allowed to reclaim citizenship for humanitarian reasons or because of their contributions to the nation, the interior ministry said Taiwan would soon unveil new rules banning Taiwanese residents of China from reclaiming their citizenship if they participated in Beijing’s propaganda activities, the Ministry of the Interior said on Monday. The measures were drafted following President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 directive that the government counter China’s espionage and influence campaigns aimed at undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty, the ministry said in a preview of the rules. The changes would affect Taiwanese who lost their citizenship after becoming permanent residents of China or obtaining passports issued by China, it said. Under the measures, former Taiwanese nationals living in China who had made statements denying the
RSS