Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) was appointed chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) yesterday, with the DPP stalwart promising to work for a "permanent peace" in the Taiwan Strait.
"Chang has been premier, Presidential Office secretary-general, DPP secretary-general and is now a lawmaker. Because of this background, he knows the government better than anybody else and this experience will be a boost for the foundation. This is why Chang was picked," Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said.
Hsieh was speaking at a press conference at the Executive Yuan to announce Chang's appointment. He succeeds the late former SEF chairman Koo Chen-fu (
PHOTO: CNA
Chang said that his goal as SEF chairman would be to assist the president, the premier and the Mainland Affairs Council in negotiating with China and seeking a permanent peace between the two nations.
"Beijing and Taipei have not talked since 1995. With a bottom line of co-existence, I will see what I can do to help the government resume peace talks with Beijing as soon as possible," Chang said.
The SEF chairmanship is an unpaid position, and because it is defined as a non-profit organization, Chang is not required to resign his seat in the legislature.
The Cabinet yesterday also announced new ministers for the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) minister and the Council of Hakka Affairs.
They are, respectively, former vice minister of examinations Chang Kow-lung (張國龍) and acting Council of Hakka Affairs Chairman Lee Yung-te (李永得).
Cabinet Spokesman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that appointments for a number of deputy Cabinet posts will be announced next week. However, according to a reliable source, former Taichung mayor Chang Wen-ying (張溫鷹) will take up the vice interior minister's post.
Chang Kow-lung has a doctorate in physics from Yale University and began teaching at National Taiwan University in 1976. He began his career in public service as a senior secretary at the Taipei County Government in 1990. He was vice minister of examinations from 2000.
Lee Yung-te began his career as a print journalist in 1979. His first government job was a consultant at the Ministry of the Interior in 1998. In the same year, Lee became acting deputy manager of the Public Television Service, then became general manager in 1999. He left the TV station last year and became the vice chairman of the Council of Hakka Affairs.
Chang Wen-ying is a political independent, but retains good connections with the DPP.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS