Lee Ying-yuan quits Cabinet to challenge Ma

Cabinet Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) yesterday gave Premier Yu Shyi-kun his resignation to run in the year-end Taipei mayoral election.

In order to maintain Cabinet stability, Lee indicated, the premier wants to nominate Lee's replacement from outside the Cabinet.

Sources said that the premier favors DPP legislator-at-large Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) as Lee's successor.

The premier is said to think Liu is an ideal candidate, Lee said on a radio show yesterday.

As for Liu's successor, DPP member Lin Chung-cheng (林忠正) yesterday admitted he had been informed that he was "likely" to take over Liu's legislative post.

Liu is in Indonesia for an international conference and was unavailable for comment.

Lin said he was not in a position to give further details before the Cabinet and DPP officially announce the nominations.

The Cabinet is scheduled to name its new secretary-general tomorrow.

Lin, however, confirmed that since the DPP is to elect members to the Central Standing Committee next month, he has received many congratulatory calls from party members who want him to run in the election.

Meanwhile, DPP member Lin Wen-lang (林文郎) is slated to replace Chiu Chang (邱彰) as a legislator-at-large, after Chiu was expelled from the party for "violating a party resolution" by refusing to show her ballot during the legislative vice-speaker election on Feb. 1.

Lin is to be sworn in on Tuesday.

Commenting on her ouster, Chiu said yesterday that she was helpless in the face off DPP and Presidential Office pressure.

She added that she is disappointed by the "infighting and power struggles within the DPP, which has lost its idealism."

After losing the legislative post, Chiu is busy finding new jobs for her legislative aides and moving out of her office in the legislature.