Premier Simon Chang (張善政) met with premier-designate Lin Chuan (林全) yesterday for a talk over the handover of the administration, discussing personnel, budget and administrative affairs, Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said.
Before the hour-long closed-door meeting between Chang and Lin, each briefly addressed the media, with Chang lauding Lin’s “valor” for daring to take over the job, which Chang said he knows perfectly well will not be easy, given the nation’s challenges.
Lin said he is glad that communication continues because the handover is a difficult task, “and as the operation of the country cannot be halted and the public has high expectations.”
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The meeting was also attended by Vice Premier Woody Duh (杜紫軍) and vice premier-designate Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀).
On the issue of personnel, Sun said Lin Chuan asked the existing Cabinet to notify and consult with the incoming Cabinet when the chairs, general managers or supervisors of state-run companies or those with public shares need to be replaced during the transition.
Chang said Sun agreed, adding that the Executive Yuan has already officially asked the ministries to pay extra attention to the matter.
As future minister of health and welfare Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延), whose appointment was revealed on Thursday, is expected to attend the annual conference of the World Health Assembly, Sun said the premier has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be proactive about the liaison work.
Lin Chuan said he also expects that room for maneuver will be left by the incumbent Cabinet for the incoming one when executing the budget, by refraining from executing “cross-year projects” unless they are particularly urgent, Sun said.
“By urgent, he means, for example, the inspections of the nation’s old buildings and addressing the problem of soil liquefaction,” Sun added.
Regarding the administrative affairs that need be handed over to the new Cabinet, Sun said the handover would be performed under the principle that the new government’s needs be satisfied, as Lin Chuan has called for.
“Both files and information that concern deeper parts of the government administration will be prepared,” Sun said. “Also we have outlined the overlap between the policies in execution and the policies that president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has proposed, so she may choose to continue what is already there rather than to start from zero.”
When the new Cabinet members are revealed, they could all have detailed conversations with the incumbent ministries and discuss the new Cabinet’s needs, Sun added.
During the meeting, the two sides also agreed that after the Cabinet members are appointed and the windows for each ministry’s handover are established, there would be no need for the government transition task force to follow up on the specifics, Sun said.
“The handover will be left to each agency by then,” Sun said.
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