Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Chang said he will not allow any Cabinet member to resign before he finishes a comprehensive evaluation on a partial Cabinet reshuffle.
"Until a comprehensive evaluation is made, I won't approve any resignation by anyone, and I don't want to see any more Cabinet members tender their resignation," Chang said.
As to the possibility of reshuffling the Cabinet before May 20 -- the anniversary of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Chang, meanwhile, reiterated that he does not have a concrete timetable for the reshuffle.
"I know that the public has very high expectations of the Executive Yuan, and I'll work hard to maintain the team under the best conditions," Chang said.
Originally, information from sources close to the Presidential Office suggested there would only be a plan to reshuffle the Cabinet after May 20. But the oil spill from a shipwreck on Jan. 14 has led to strong public disapproval of the Executive Yuan, owing to its delayed response to the disaster.
Opposition legislators have recently demanded that the responsible Cabinet members and officials be replaced. Topping their list was Lin Jun-yi (
A report sent to Chang by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission on Monday also listed Lin and Yeh as two of the officials who should be held responsible for administrative incompetence in the handling of the spill. The other was Lin's deputy, James Lee (
Both Lin and Yeh told the legislature on Tuesday that they were willing to take responsibility, and Yeh opted to tender her resignation.
Although Yeh's oral resignation has been turned down, sources said that Yeh is still firm about her decision and may tender an official letter of resignation today.
Executive Yuan officials said Chang is unlikely to let Yeh step down because she is not among the officials who have performed poorly.
In addition, they say that taking responsibility for the oil spill does not necessarily mean they have to resign.
Officials said Chang will definitely conduct a Cabinet reshuffle to boost administrative efficiency, but the timing for it is still under evaluation.
On Tuesday, Chang unveiled the standards he is using to evaluate whether a Cabinet member will be replaced. These included good teamwork, the ability to carry out duties, professional ability and public reputation.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
RSS