When Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) was elected as the youngest legislator in Taiwan history in 1984 at the age of 27, he had no idea what kind of political mark he would make in the years ahead. Now almost two decades later, he has been made the youngest Minister of the Interior in the nation's history.
The 44-year-old Yu and his family have strong ties to one of the DPP's heavyweight local factions in Kaohsiung County. Yu is also the leader of the DPP's Justice Alliance.
Because of Yu's close relationship to first lady Wu Shu-chen (
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has long promised to appoint Yu to the Cabinet, but politicians and political scientists have expressed doubts about Yu's qualifications.
Newly-appointed Premier Yu Shyi-kun, however, said that he was the one who decided to tap Yu for the ministry post. He emphasized that Yu's experiences in local government and in the Legislative Yuan make him a perfect candidate for the post.
"President Chen wanted to designate him as the deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office, but I insisted that [Yu] be named the Minister of the Interior," Yu Shyi-kun said.
Yu Cheng-hsien and the first lady were colleagues when they served as legislators 10 years ago. Yu took extra care of the first lady, who was disabled in a car accident. They remained close friends to this day.
In the 2000 presidential election, it was Yu's endorsement of Chen that helped the DPP contender receive the most votes in Kaohsiung County. Rumors about Yu's promotion to different positions have been prevalent ever since Chen took office.
Yu, however, objected to notions that his appointment was linked to his relationship with the first family. He argued that his experiences as a three-term legislator and two-terms as a commissioner are enough for any Cabinet post.
Others agreed.
"Yu's help to Wu was more like a boy scout's initiative, he had no idea at that time that Wu would be the first lady," said DPP lawmaker Chen Chi-mai (
DPP legislator Yu Jan-daw (余政道), Yu Cheng-hsien's younger brother, said his sibling is definitely qualified for the post, but that he should keep a low profile at first.
But Lin Ching-yao (
"He doesn't have a strong oratorical ability, or a good sense of policies and he can't deal with conflicts well," Lin said.
Huang Chih-hua (黃志華), a close aide to both Yu and Yu's mother, however, said that Yu is up to the job.
"He believes that the business of the Ministry of the Interior is an extension of county business and he thinks that he is well qualified. In my opinion, he should change the way he deals with conflicts in the future."
Officials and political scientists, however, expressed doubt over Yu's qualifications.
"Managing local government is totally different from managing national interior affairs. He probably needs time to get used to the central government's functions," said a ministry official.
Liao Da-chi (
"A local commissioner only needs to deal with local council members, but a minister has to deal with the Legislative Yuan, which is much more sophisticated," Liao said. "His second term in the county government didn't produce any remarkable achievements. His sense of policymaking probably needs to be strengthened."
Yu is from one of Kaohsiung County's three main factions, the Black Faction, which was established by his grandfather, Yu Deng-fa (余登發), four decades ago. Yu's older sister, Yu Lin-ya (余玲雅), is the vice chairperson of the Development and Evaluation Commission (研考會). His younger brother, Yu Jane-daw (余政道) and wife, Cheng Kuei-lien (鄭貴蓮), are both newly-elected DPP legislators.
Yu and his mother, Yu Chen Yueh-ying (
"It's not fair to link [his appointment] to the clan's efforts. We have tried very hard to erase that impression," Yu Jane-daw (余政道) said.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS