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Cabinet expected to resign tomorrow

Newly appointed premier Chang Chun-hsiung, left, and departing Premier Su Tseng-chang wave at the media after Chang called on Su at the Legislative Yuan yesterday. PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

The Cabinet is expected to resign tomorrow, while the newly assigned premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) is scheduled to take the oath of office next Monday.

"A total of 87 Cabinet members will resign on Wednesday," Cabinet spokeswoman Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) said. "The new premier will take his oath of office on Monday. Immediately after his inauguration, the new premier will chair the first Cabinet meeting."

After Chang takes oath, Chen said the new premier will reconsider or resubmit some proposals to the legislature for approval, including that on the minimum wage.

"Some proposals, such as the annual budget for the Cabinet, will be done deals and will not be changed, as most of them are pending in the legislature," Chen said. "But on issues like the minimum wage, [outgoing premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌)] did not make any decision so the new premier will go through them carefully and then submit them to the legislature as soon as possible."

As for a potential Cabinet reshuffle, Chen said she had yet to receive any information on the matter.

"The new premier was announced by the president this morning. I think even the new premier himself has yet to think about [a reshuffle] or make any decisions at this moment," Chen said. "I think new Cabinet nominees will be announced when the new premier begins work next Monday."

The new Cabinet will be comprised of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members as it prepares for the "battle" in next year's presidential election, the DPP caucus said yesterday.

"Judging from his selection of [Presidential Secretary-General] Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) as [rumored] deputy premier, we can see that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has put the `command center' [of the presidential campaign] inside the Executive Yuan," DPP caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said when asked for comment.

"President Chen is the commander in chief of our presidential campaign," Wang said while answering inquiries about the possibility that Chen had appointed Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) to the premiership to show he "was not a lame duck."

"But I am sure that the promise he made not to focus government authority on himself remains unchanged," he said.

DPP Legislator Huang Chien-hui (黃劍輝), who is close to DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), said during a press conference that choosing Chang as the new premier meant two different things for the DPP.

Chang could promote harmony between party factions because he is an experienced lawmaker, Huang said, adding that Chang also has the ability and experience necessary to manage an election campaign on a national scale.

"President Chen is eager to make some breakthroughs in diplomacy and on cross-strait relations during the last year of his term ... the appointment of Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) as representative to the US and appointment of Chang as premier signify a new strategy on cross-strait policies," he said.

The identity of the new Cabinet members was also the focus of media attention yesterday.

Asked for comment at the DPP headquarters, Chang said his goal was to "put the right person in the right position," dismissing media concerns that party factions would be a determining factor in his decisions.

At a different venue, Huang dismissed media speculation that former Council of Labor Affairs chairman Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) and former acting Kaohsiung mayor Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) -- both close to Hsieh -- would become Cabinet members, saying they had other plans.

Meanwhile, DPP legislators were divided on the scale of the reshuffle yesterday.

DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬), who was a Su campaign member, said "Hsieh's ideals and his men" should all be reflected in the new Cabinet.

DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇), who is also close to Hsieh, said new Cabinet officials should be chosen for their ability to contribute to government policies and the continuity of the pro-localization administration.

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said that Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) had told him he would serve as Chang's vice premier.

"During a telephone conversation this morning, Chiou told me that the new Cabinet wished to negotiate with the legislature about the budget and the Organic Law of the Central Election Commission [CEC,中選會組織法]," Wang said.

The standoff over the CEC bill, which would see the election body reorganized and give the pan-blue camp a majority, has resulted in the stalling of three budget requests for this fiscal year.

The three budget requests refer to the NT$1.6 trillion (US$ 47.9 billion) government budget, the NT$ 3.3 trillion budget for state-owned enterprises and government nonprofits funds and the NT$ 77.3 billion special budget for public construction projects.

"I hope the new Cabinet will set partisanship aside and handle the CEC bill rationally and impartially when it is negotiated at the legislature," Wang said.

Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus whip Hsu Shao-ping (徐少萍) said the party didn't expect too much from the new premier.

"There is only one year left. There is no doubt that Chang is the leading caretaker of the Cabinet. We hope he will improve communication with the opposition," Hsu said.

People First Party (PFP) legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) said yesterday he would continue to try to convince his party of the necessity of toppling the Chang Cabinet.

Hsu said the KMT was not considering coming out in favor of Fu's plan, adding that the party was willing to give Chang a "probation period."

Given the fact that one-third of seats in the legislature is required for a vote of no-confidence against the Cabinet to be proposed, the PFP, which controls 21 of the 217 seats, would be unable to launch the motion without the help of the KMT.
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