Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬), the DPP's culture and information department director, said the party didn't deny that it had expected to take over the finance ministry, preferring to have it in DPP hands.
"Hsieh and Yen were classmates at National Taiwan University, and they had a long-standing friendship until now," Cheng said yesterday. "We basically hope all Cabinet ministers are DPP members."
According to a source from the Presidential Office, former President Lee Teng-hui (
"And Yen has had close contact with President Chen during the past year," the source said.
Sources said that Yen frequents the Presidential Office to build ties with the president's aides, making great efforts to show his loyalty to the president.
The source added that when the stock market nosedived due to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四) dispute, DPP secretary-general Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) strongly opposed stock market intervention using the National Stabilization Fund.
But Yen thought the president would support intervention and attempted to prop up the local bourse, although he drew criticism as a result.
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