Premier-designate Lin Chuan (林全) yesterday announced the final members of his Cabinet, surprising many with his choice of National Taiwan University law professor Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) to be minister of the interior.
At a news conference at Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei, Lin introduced his final five picks — Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) for minister of transportation and communications, Lee Shying-jow (李翔宙) to head the Veterans Affairs Council, Lee Chung-wei (李仲威) to head the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), Hsieh Shou-shing (謝曉星) to be the Atomic Energy Council minister and Yeh.
Yeh, who is in the US on an academic trip, was the only one not to attend the news conference.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Yeh’s appointment came as a surprise, as media outlets had touted several other candidates — including Taipei City Deputy Mayor Charles Lin (林欽榮), Yilan County Deputy Commissioner Wu Tze-cheng (吳澤成), Tainan Deputy Mayor Tseng Shu-cheng (曾旭正) and former Tainan mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) — but not Yeh.
“When thinking about who should serve as minister of the interior, we thought about Yeh at the beginning, but he declined,” Lin Chuan said. “We went on and looked for other candidates, but still came back to Yeh.”
He said Yeh was a suitable choice because he is not only a legal expert who specializes in constitutional issues and the environment, he has also served on a number of government positions and is familiar with administrative reform, sunshine bills, environmental issues and territorial planning.
“I believe that he is more than capable of doing the job well,” Lin Chuan said.
However, he said that he had a hard time convincing Yeh to accept the appointment, he finally succeeded to do so two days ago.
Hochen too was unwilling to accept the position at first.
"I tried to convince him many times but failed, until someone eventually successfully did it," Lin said. "I really admired the person who did it, because I couldn't do it even [Hochen and I] have been friends for a long time."
"But I can't tell you who the person is," Lin added.
Lee Chung-wei’s appointment was also seen as a surprise, as the retired navy deputy commander would be the first CGA director-general to have a career military background. The post has usually been held by someone with a police background.
The CGA must defend Taiwan’s territorial waters, so Lee Chung-wei’s experience would help the agency, Lin Chuan said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS