Premier Yu names Liu San-chi as head of statistics agency

Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday announced that Liu San-chi (劉三錡), the deputy head of the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), will be promoted as head of the organization, filling the vacancy left by Lin Chuan (林全), the newly appointed minister of finance.

Yu said he believes Liu is highly qualified for the post given his extensive experience serving the department.

The premier said he had consulted President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on the appointment and that Liu has won the president's respect.

Having served in the budget and accounting department for 27 years, Liu, 55, told the media that he is honored to take over the post and will work to allocate resources in the most efficient manner possible.

Acknowledging it as a tough task to distribute public funds, Liu said, "I will continue to play the `bad cop' [in performing the task] in a bid to make the best use of government funding."

The new chief praised the performance of his predecessor, saying the department's system was well designed under Lin's management. Liu said he will follow that system, adding that it had received the support of the premier.

Liu graduated from the accounting department of Soochow University. He has served as a section chief and the deputy head of the DGBAS. He has also acted as head of the accounting department of the Ministry of Education.

The Cabinet is undergoing a small reshuffle in the wake of the policy about-face on the reform of grassroots financial institutions last week.

Lin Chuan and Director of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Lee Chin-lung (李金龍) were appointed earlier this week as the new minister of finance and the chairman of the Council of Agriculture, respectively, to replace the outgoing Lee Yung-san (李庸三) and Fan Chen-tsung (范振宗).