The Executive Yuan yesterday announced a Cabinet reshuffle, appointing four ministers and confirming rumors circulating ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday that the government was considering a reshuffle to improve policy implementation.
Deputy Minister of Education Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) has been appointed minister of science and technology; former deputy minister of health Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) has been tapped to head the Ministry of Health and Welfare; Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) has been appointed council of agriculture minister; and Minister Without Portfolio Lin Mei-chu (林美珠), who is also President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) cousin, has been appointed minister of labor.
Lin Mei-chu’s specialty in law will be a boon for the government following amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), Executive Yuan spokesperson Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Lin Mei-chu is expected to shoulder the responsibility of communicating with the public on the controversial amendments, the Executive Yuan said, adding that she would be retaining her position as minister without portfolio.
Lin Tsung-hsien, 55, comes from a family of farmers and studied at then-National Chiayi Institute of Agriculture, now National Chiayi University, the Executive Yuan said, adding that with such a background, the government hopes Lin Tsung-hsien will be suited to promote the government’s agricultural policies.
Chen Shih-chung promised that the policy of including doctors under the Labor Standards Act would not be changed, saying that “medical services are a part of the service sector.”
Photo: Chiang Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
He cited drafting the white paper for the Tsai administration’s medical policies as his qualifications for accepting the position.
Regarding a controversy over the government’s plan to lift a ban on food imports from five Japanese prefectures, Chen Shih-chung said Taiwan must connect with the world and should base its decisions on facts.
He rejected the notion that ministers without portfolios have greater power than ministers, saying that the former are tasked with policy instruction, while the latter focus on implementation.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said the party would not comment on the appointments until it observes the new ministers.
Implementing reform is not a 100m dash and the Cabinet should focus on communication and building consensus, he said.
Taoyuan Confederation of Trade Unions chairman Mao Chen-fei (毛振飛) said he did not have high expectations for Lin Mei-chu because of her specialty in law.
Screengrab from Taipei Medical University’s Web site
Lin Mei-chu is a foreign name to the labor sector, Mao said, adding that from his experience law experts are cold and rigid.
“Law is not everything,” Mao said, citing the example of former minister of labor Jennifer Wang (王如玄), also a legal expert, who filed a lawsuit against workers protesting the closure of the factory they worked at.
Additional reporting by Cheng Hung-ta and CNA
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday issued a rebuttal to former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who said a fistfight in the Legislative Yuan might have been “provoked from the outside” to destabilize Taiwan. Rice made the comment in an online discussion about the AUKUS alliance of Australia, the UK and the US hosted by the Policy Exchange forum in London on Thursday. On mention of Taiwan, she was quoted by The Australian as predicting that Beijing would use paramilitary forces and acts of sabotage to destabilize the nation. “There was a fistfight in the Taiwanese parliament a few weeks ago
A Taiwanese YouTuber suspected of creating and selling deepfake porn videos featuring more than 100 politicians and influencers was on Monday released on bail after being arrested the previous day. Chu Yu-chen (朱玉宸), 26, who uses the name Xiaoyu (小玉) on YouTube, was arrested on Sunday in New Taipei City, along with two suspected accomplices, a 24-year-old YouTuber surnamed Yeh (耶), known as Shaiw Shaiw (笑笑), and a 22-year-old man Chuang (莊). The three suspects were on Monday escorted to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for further questioning on suspicion of distributing obscene videos and publicly insulting others, in contravention of
CHINA WORRIES: A source said the AIT held a meeting at which Taiwan lawmakers and US officials discussed expediting shipments of arms that were paid for Taiwanese officials have reportedly reached out to the US to discuss the possibility of expediting the delivery of F-16 jets to Taiwan, CNN said on Friday. While the “Pentagon’s Indo-Pacific Command has watched with increasing concern as China has rapidly modernized its military and improved its training with an eye to Taiwan,” the US Department of State is wary of taking a more aggressive stance against China, a CNN report said. US President Joe Biden’s “administration has discussed with Taiwanese officials the possibility of expediting the delivery of American-made F-16s to Taiwan, according to Taiwanese and US officials familiar with the talks,”
FAMILY: While the CECC agrees ‘in principle’ to allowing entry to foreign spouses and children of foreigners in Taiwan with a residence permit, the issue is still being reviewed A nationwide level 2 COVID-19 alert is to be extended for two weeks until Nov. 1, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, adding that agencies are still discussing whether to allow foreign spouses and children of foreigners in Taiwan with a residence permit to enter the nation. “In principle we agree to relaxing the entry regulations for the group, but relevant agencies are still reviewing and discussing the matter,” said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center. The center on Sept. 13 eased border restrictions for foreign dependents of Taiwanese nationals. They can apply
RSS