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Su Chi gets top job at the NSC

The office of president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) announced yesterday that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) will be the new secretary-general of the National Security Council (NSC).

The appointment of Su, a long-time friend and top aide to Ma, had been expected and was among a list of names released by the Ma camp.

Other names on the list included National Taiwan University politics professor Kao Lang (高朗), who will become Presidential Office deputy secretary-general, while the deputy secretary-general posts at the NSC will be filled by director of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Overseas Department Ho Szu-yin (何思因) and former deputy defense minister Lee Hai-tung (李海東).

Kao Charng (高長), a director at the Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research (中經院); Chung Chien (鍾堅), a professor at Tsing Hua University; Chen Teh-sheng (陳德昇), a researcher at the Institute for International Relations at National Chengchi University; Tsai Horng-ming (蔡宏明), executive secretary of the Chinese National Federation of Industries; Philip Yang (楊永明), an associate professor of political science at National Taiwan University and Chan Man-jung (詹滿容), an associate professor at Tamkang University, will become advisers to the NSC.

Lin Man-houng (林滿紅), a senior research fellow in the Institute of Modern History at Academia Sinica, will become president of Academia Historica.

Earlier yesterday, Ma held a meeting with premier-designate Liu Chao-hsiuan (劉兆玄) and top aides to discuss candidates for minister of the interior after minister-designate Liao Fung-te (廖風德) passed away on Saturday.

Prospective candidates to replace Liao include designated vice-minister Liao Liao-yi (廖了以) and former KMT vice secretary-general Wu Chin-lin (伍錦霖).

Ma’s spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) declined to confirm whether or not a new nominee was appointed at the meeting.

“I do not think it’s the right time to discuss this issue now,” Lo said yesterday in front of KMT headquarters.

Liao Fung-te died of heart and lung failure on Saturday after collapsing during a hike. He was 57. He served as director of the KMT’s organization and development committee and had helped the party win the recent elections before he was chosen to lead the Ministry of the Interior.

News of his death came as a shock for Ma and the KMT as they prepare for the transfer of power on May 20 and it sparked concern over the health of incoming Cabinet members.

Department of Health director-designate Lin Fang-yue (林芳郁), who is superintendent of National Taiwan University Hospital, suggested yesterday that all incoming Cabinet members receive physical exams and have a better understanding of their own health.

Lo said Ma would not rule out the possibility that Cabinet members would be required to have health checks and that the results could be made public.

Lo dismissed a United Daily News report that Liao Fung-te was diagnosed with cerebral thrombosis last month, but that the KMT had failed to inform Ma.

Meanwhile, Ma said on Saturday he would respond to Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) earlier call for China and Taiwan to build mutual trust during his inauguration speech on May 20.

Hu said during a meeting with former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) last month that both sides should “seek to build mutual trust, shelve disputes, seek common ground while reserving differences and create a ‘win-win’ situation.”

Ma had issued a statement expressing his appreciation for Hu’s message, saying it “served as an important guide to turning a new page in the development of cross-strait relations.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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