Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Sean Chen will succeed Eric Chu (朱立倫) as vice premier and his position will be filled by Chen Yuh-chang (陳裕璋), chairman of First Financial Holding (第一金控), Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said yesterday.
More Cabinet adjustments, mainly in economics-related portfolios, will be unveiled by Wednesday, ahead of the second anniversary of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration, Wu said, without elaborating.
FSC Vice Chairman Lee Jih-chu (李紀珠) will be transferred to another official post, Wu said.
Described as a key member of Ma’s team when he was Taipei mayor from 1998 to 2006, Chen Yuh-chang served as secretary-general of the city government before being promoted to deputy mayor.
After Ma completed his term as mayor, Chen Yuh-chang served as chairman of the city’s EasyCard Corp, before becoming chairman of First Financial Holding.
Chu announced his resignation after being nominated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to run in the Nov. 27 election for Sinbei City, a new municipality that will be created in November by upgrading Taipei County.
“The premier accepted my resignation and said at the weekly Cabinet meeting today that he respected my decision,” Chu told a press conference at the Government Information Office.
He said that over the next six months, he would travel around Taipei County to reach out to its residents and win their support for his policies and plans for the region.
If he wins the election, Chu said, he would be able to attend the weekly Cabinet meeting again.
“As a local government head, I would work in concert with the central government to develop Sinbei City into a world-class metropolis,” he said.
In an interview with the Central News Agency yesterday, Ma said the Cabinet changes, which he said would include more economic and financial experts, had a “special meaning” for the country’s global economic strategy and the quest for a decade of solid economic growth.
The economy and the well-being of Taiwanese, rather than political issues, would be the top priority on his agenda, he said.
Ma also praised Premier Wu’s performance since his appointment last September, saying that he has almost completed all three tasks he was charged with — controlling the spread of H1N1 influenza, overseeing the rebuilding efforts following the devastation wrought by Typhoon Morakot in August last year and reviving the economy.
Ma said he and Wu have worked together “seamlessly.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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