The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday announced additional future Cabinet members after introducing the first eight names on Thursday, with Tainan City Government secretary-general Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) named as future Executive Yuan secretary-general and former Taoyuan deputy mayor Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) named as future minister of justice.
Chiu said the request came from president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
National Taiwan University professor Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝) has been asked to head the National Development Council, with Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), Tsai’s industrial policy convener, asked to serve as Chen Tain-jy’s deputy, premier-designate Lin Chuan (林全) announced yesterday afternoon.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsung, Taipei Times
Deputy Minister of Labor Kuo Fan-yu (郭芳煜) has been tapped for the ministry’s position and National Chung Hsing University professor Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) has been tapped as deputy minister of the Council of Agriculture, while former Pingtung County commissioner Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻) has been asked to serve as minister of agriculture, Lin said.
Lin later said in a radio interview that Tsao accepted the appointment.
DPP Legislator-at-large Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) has been appointed as the Environmental Protection Agency director, while lawyer and environmental activist Thomas Chan (詹順貴) is to serve as his deputy, Lin added.
Lin also tapped DPP Legislator-at-large Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) for minister of culture, with Cheng saying that she was considering the offer.
Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Wu Hong-mo (吳宏謀) has been asked to head the Executive Yuan’s public construction commission, Lin said.
Meanwhile, sources said that Chen Mei-ling’s appointment as Executive Yuan secretary-general did not come as a surprise due to her capabilities and experience in the administrative branch.
Chen Mei-ling served as the Executive Yuan deputy secretary-general during former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration and shared a cordial relationship with Tsai, the sources said, adding that with such a background, it was no surprise that Chen Mei-ling would be tapped to be a part of the central government.
Chen Mei-ling’s influence in Tainan can be seen from her nickname, “Shadow Mayor,” the sources said.
They also said that Chen Mei-ling’s assistance was notable for the success of Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), who had no prior experience in politics, adding that with Chen Mei-ling’s transfer to the central government, her vacancy in the city government would be hard to fill.
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
RSS