With the new administration beginning May 20, President-elect Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) Cabinet is almost complete, Vice Premier-designate Yu Shyi-kun confirmed yesterday.
Yu said Tsai Ying-wen (蔡英文) is to become chairperson of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and Shea Jia-dong (許嘉棟) the Minister of Finance.
Yu made the announcement of the lineup of the new Cabinet yesterday and confirmed there were only six posts left to fill: the Department of Health, Environmental Protection Administration, National Youth Commission, Council for Economic Planning and Development, Atomic Energy Council and National Sports Council.
Yu said that the still-vacant Cabinet posts would be filled by the end of the month and be announced by Premier-designate Tang Fei (唐飛), who is currently recuperating from an operation for the removal of a thymus gland cyst.
When pressed by reporters to reveal more details, Yu said: "There is no need to keep guessing, all I can tell you is what has been decided."
Most of the names officially confirmed yesterday had already been tipped for the posts by the media.
Tsai's nomination by the president-elect as the head of the MAC had been leaked 10 days ago, but was not officially confirmed until yesterday.
The reason given for the delay was said to be Tang's hesitancy about the appointment, a source said.
Some media reports said that Tsai was in the ad hoc advisory group that drafted the "special state-to-state" interpretation,of cross-strait relations for President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
However, another source said there was no such group but only informal gatherings of close aides to Lee, and that the "special state-to-state" model was more of a general concept than an elaborately planned strategy.
Shea is currently deputy governor of the Central Bank of China.
"It was my sense of responsibility for society and the country that made me take the post," said Shea at a news conference last night.
Meanwhile, the newly-confirmed head of the Aboriginal Affairs Commission, Yahani Isagagafat (尤哈尼．伊斯卡卡夫特), an Aboriginal rights activist, said that he was taking the new job because he cared about the welfare of his people. He is currently the chief of general affairs at Yushan College of Theology.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
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