Premier-designate Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said yesterday that his Cabinet members would be announced tomorrow because Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) will lead his Cabinet in resigning that day.
Wu met President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Monday night to discuss the Cabinet reshuffle shortly after the Presidential Office announced his appointment. He continued finalizing names yesterday with vice premier-designate, Taoyuan County Commissioner Eric Chu (朱立倫).
Wu said that Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛), Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄), Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) and Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) would keep their portfolios.
“The Cabinet list is nearly complete and I will give a report to President Ma tomorrow as I need to consult him and finalize the list,” he said.
Vice Minister of the Interior Lin Join-sane (林中森) visited Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) headquarters yesterday morning to meet Wu, and said later that he would serve as secretary-general of the Executive Yuan, replacing Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川).
“I accepted the future premier’s invitation to take over the position ... I understand the importance of this position and I am willing to take on the challenge,” he said.
Lin, who served as deputy mayor of Kaohsiung when Wu was the city’s mayor, said Wu trusted his ability in handling the aftermath of the 921 Earthquake 10 years ago and Typhoon Morakot last month, and he agreed to join the Cabinet to assist Wu with the post-Morakot reconstruction work.
Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) and Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Chang Jen-hsiang (章仁香) are expected to lose their posts because of their slow response to the Morakot disaster.
KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) confirmed that Presidential Office Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) would replace Wu Den-yih as KMT secretary-general and that a hand-over ceremony would be held this afternoon.
Wu Den-yih said yesterday that flood control and soil conservation in mountainous areas would be his Cabinet’s top priority. Wu made the remark during a KMT meeting, said Lee Chien-jung (李建榮), head of the KMT’s Culture and Communications Committee.
“The new Cabinet will prioritize flood control and soil conservation to effectively protect people’s lives and property,” Lee quoted Wu as saying.
He said Wu stressed that river dredging and cleaning of sewer systems must be done in the dry season to help avoid rainy season floods and said the new Cabinet will step up the pace of the rehabilitation of typhoon victims.
Meanwhile, Chu said yesterday that he understood that his new job would be to assist the premier, and he would help revive the economy and reconstruct hard-hit areas in the wake of Morakot.
“After serving as a local government head for more than seven years, I have come to understand the importance of the government standing together with the public and doing what they desire,” Chu said in an interview at his county government office.
He said he hopes the ministries and departments will work in concert, just like a local government, and tackle issues with a team spirit.
Since a lot of people affected by Typhoon Morakot are still trying to get their lives back on track, the new Cabinet will prioritize post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction, he said.
Epidemic prevention would also be high on the Cabinet’s agenda, given that the number of swine flu patients hospitalized was increasing steadily, he said.
“Economic revival will be equally important because the economy has yet to bottom out of the recession,” said Chu, who has a doctoral degree in accounting.
Asked about speculation that he is Ma’s heir-apparent, Chu said this was not the time to be talking about political or partisan issues or personal interests.
“Full dedication to work is the public’s greatest expectation of the new Cabinet,” he said.
When he was asked about his fall from second place to 12th in the ranking of mayors and county commissioners in the latest opinion poll by CommonWealth Magazine, Chu said that the result might be connected to public dismay that the county government failed to get its status upgraded to a special municipality like Taipei City.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) voiced approval of Liu’s resignation, but challenged Ma’s choice of Wu Den-yih to replace him.
“The pair [Wu Den-yih and Chu] is much more of a political choice, and we will keep an eye on the new Cabinet’s ability,” she said during a visit to Hsinchu County.
Both Wu Den-yih and Chu lack Cabinet experience, Tsai said.
“What we are worried about is whether they can effectively coordinate government agencies and run the Cabinet,” she said.
The DPP also demanded Wu Den-yih withdraw next year’s central government budget that was submitted by Liu and draft a replacement.
Liu had sent his administrative plan and budget proposal to the legislature on Aug. 31.
“Wu’s [Den-yih] Cabinet must present a new budget statement in conformity with his policy objectives as the proposal from Liu’s Cabinet can’t embody Wu’s ideas,” DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said the caucus would suggest Wu Den-yih follow the precedent set by Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) in October 2000 after he replaced Tang Fei (唐飛) during the first year of the former DPP administration.
“When Chang took office as premier, the administrative plan and budget request presented by Tang were already in the legislature. Lawmakers across party lines demanded the Executive Yuan conduct a review of the proposals and then send revised ones to the legislature,” Lin said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
Also See: Ma’s choice of Chu more popular than that of Wu
Also See: PROFILE: Appointment as vice premier will put Taoyuan County’s Eric Chu to the test
Also See: Bourse closes at monthly high
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique