Former minister of economic affairs John Deng (鄧振中), who on Tuesday was named a minister without portfolio, is to be responsible for overseeing the nation’s economic and trade negotiations with foreign governments, Executive Yuan spokesman Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said.
Premier Lin Chuan (林全) recommended Deng to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) because he hopes to make use of Deng’s expertise in economic affairs and trade negotiations, Tung said.
Deng has held several important positions in the administrations of former presidents Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), including deputy chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, deputy representative to the WTO, deputy representative to the US, chief representative of the Office of Trade Negotiations, deputy minister of economic affairs and deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council.
He took over the economics portfolio in December 2014 and held it until Ma left office on May 20.
It is widely believed that one of the most important tasks for Deng in his new post would be to assist the government promote the nation’s bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
In an interview with the Central News Agency, Deng said that obtaining TPP membership is very important to Taiwan.
The government not only needs to strengthen its communication with the public to find a way of gaining entry that is acceptable to all sides, but also must try to ease the concerns of TPP members and win their support, he said.
Unless these issues are resolved, it will be impossible for Taiwan to join the bloc, he said.
In related news, the Presidential Office on Tuesday said that a national security adviser to Tsai has been appointed deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office.
Yao Jen-to (姚人多) replaces Tseng Hou-jen (曾厚仁), who is to become deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council.
The decision to transfer Tseng, a former diplomat, to the security council was made as part of Tsai’s efforts to build up the council’s strength in foreign affairs, the Presidential Office said.
Yao has been a key aide to Tsai, assisting her in promoting transitional justice, including apologizing to the nation’s Aborigines, and her promotion represents Tsai’s determination to push related reforms, the office said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
RSS