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
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