The Presidential Office yesterday said it has approved the resignations of National Security Council Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) and Presidential Office Secretary-General Timothy Yang (楊進添), despite President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) repeatedly calling for the two officials to remain in their posts.
King is to be succeeded by former minister of national defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) and Yang by former deputy legislative speaker Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權). The new appointments are set to take effect on Thursday next week.
The Presidential Office said that Yang tendered his resignation several days ago on the grounds that his mission had been completed, and, after being asked to remain by the president, resubmitted his resignation citing the need to take care of his elderly mother.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Yang’s second attempt to resign was approved, and, in accordance with precedent, he is to be hired as a senior adviser to the president, the Presidential Office said.
King resigned for “personal health and family reasons” and was also asked not to leave by the president several times, according to the Presidential Office.
King reportedly underwent a coronary artery stenting procedure in October last year.
Photo: Luo Pei-teh, Taipei Times
A source told CNA that King had another heart operation last week, and his family has insisted that he leave his post due to the workload and pressure.
According to a CNA report, King is not expected to work in the near future.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said he was surprised about the resignations, adding that Kao taking over the national security council was incomprehensible, as he previously resigned from his post as minister of national defense due to health concerns.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
“The changes to power brought about by the shuffle between King and Kao are not easily understood. We hope that the Presidential Office would disclose more information regarding the arrangement so that the nation can have a clearer idea of what is going on,” Huang said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said King’s resignation also took him by surprise: “I seriously don’t know why [he resigned]; maybe he has other plans for his life.”
Meanwhile, Charles Chen (陳以信), previously deputy commissioner of the KMT's Culture and Communication Committee, is to replace Yin Wei (殷偉) as one of the Presidential Office's spokespersons, with the other being Ma Wei-kuo (馬瑋國). Yin will serve as the president's secretary, in charge of the president's speechwriting team.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
RSS