The appointment of three-term Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chi-mai (
Although Chen has dismissed speculation that he will run in next year's Kaohsiung city mayoral election, the Cabinet post is a higher profile position for a man considered one of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Chen Chi-mai is also a member of the the DPP's Justice Alliance (
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
DPP Legislator Chiu Chuei-chen (
"That's why he relinquished the opportunity to run in the year-end legislative elections in the first place," he said.
Chiu's opinion is echoed by a veteran legislature reporter, who asked not to be named.
"Taking up the Cabinet's job is just a transitional stage in his long-term career plans," he said. "Although he would prefer to stay in the legislature, his personal wishes don't count, because they run against the plans of the Presidential Office and the Cabinet."
The new Cabinet line-up features young talent recruited from the legislature and academic circles.
Chen Chi-mai's bid for the Kaohsiung mayoralty might run into problems, however, because of controversy surrounding his father, Chen Che-nan (
In the run-up to the presidential election, Chen Yu-hao (
Chen Yu-hao also alleged that he had given a NT$10 million bribe to then DPP deputy secretary-general Chen Che-nan in 2001, as well as NT$1 million to Chang Ching-sen (
Chen Che-nan and Chang both dismissed Chen Yu-hao's allegation as a "campaign trick."
The DPP, however, acknowledged that Chen Yu-hao donated NT$10 million to the campaign for the 2000 presidential race. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) acknowledged receiving NT$100 million from the fugitive.
Describing himself as a hardworking individual, Chen Chi-mai jokingly told the Taipei Times yesterday that his biggest shortcoming was having "zero disadvantages."
His colleague, DPP caucus whip Tsai Huang-liang (
In the eyes of Tsai, Chen Chi-mai is a fine politician who is well-educated, well-organized, self-restrained and dexterous in interpersonal skills.
"He's one of the fine young men who is well accepted by all party faction members," Tsai said.
Chen obtained his master's degree from Taipei Medical College and once worked as a medical doctor at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Because of his expertise in health care, he doubles as a minister without portfolio in charge of reviewing the Cabinet's health bills and related projects.
If he has any disadvantages at all, Tsai said, it would be that he is a little indecisive and too thin.
Chen Chi-mai is 172cm tall and weighs in at about 62kg.
In the eyes of the veteran journalist, Chen Chi-mai is a smart individual, quick-witted but also "docile" and "bashful."
"It seems he's been living his life for other people, mainly is his father," he said. "His father played a pivotal role in his switching careers from health care to politics."
He is also living under the shadow of President Chen, who cares less about Chen Chi-mai's personal interests that his own, which include developing his own base of support in the government and the party, the journalist said.
Lauding Chen Chi-mai's eloquence, Chiu, who worked with Chen Chi-mai when they were elected as the DPP's caucus whips during the last legislative session, said that he was one of the up-and-coming members of the party.
"I hope he makes good use of his personal advantages and resources in the Cabinet to help himself climb up the ladder of power," Chiu said.
The only advice Chiu had for Chen Chi-mai was to strengthen his interpersonal skills, which he said had been challenged when they were caucus whips.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods