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.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
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,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS