Representatives from President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration and president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday met for the first time to discuss the transition of power, but did not reach any concrete conclusions.
Arriving at Taipei Guest House, six officials from the outgoing government and six officials from the DPP discussed the matter behind closed doors after exchanging brief welcome remarks.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was represented by Presidential Office Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), deputy secretaries-general Hsiung Kuang-hua (熊光華) and Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑), National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chao Ke-ta (趙克達), Vice Premier Woody Duh (杜紫軍) and Executive Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Sung Yu-hsieh (宋餘俠).
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The DPP delegation was composed of Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Deputy Secretary-General Jason Liu (劉建忻), co-convener of the government transition taskforce Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀), former DPP Opinion Survey Center director Chen Chun-lin (陳俊麟) and Policy Committee Deputy Executive Director Shih Keh-he (施克和).
“During the meeting, the delegation of the outgoing government provided a list of contacts for further discussions. The handover of the Presidential Office and the National Security Council will be done according to the law, as well as the results of later negotiations,” Wu told a news conference at DPP headquarters after the meeting. “The Cabinet has drafted a set of regulations governing the transition of power and will finalize them after we have provided our suggestions.”
Wu said the DPP would have more meetings with the outgoing government to discuss the details of the handover, especially with regards to long-term major government budget and policy plans.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Asked if the DPP requested that the Presidential Office refrain from making new official appointments and signing treaties and agreements before Ma steps down on May 20, Wu said the two sides did not discuss the issue during the meeting, but added that the DPP caucus had already made it very clear.
At a separate press conference held by the Presidential Office, Tseng was asked if Ma planned to meet with Tsai before her inauguration. Tseng said they did not discuss the issue during the meeting.
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