Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) and National Development Council Minister Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝) are to be replaced in a minor Cabinet reshuffle that could take place after Thursday, when the budget bill for the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program is expected to be passed, sources said yesterday.
The reshuffle would affect finance-related functions, as Acting Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) is to be promoted to a regular minister, Yeh and Chen are to be replaced and a new minister without portfolio is to replace Minister of Labor Lin Mei-chu (林美珠), who was tapped to lead the ministry in February, the sources said.
The reshuffle is likely to be announced after the passage of the budget bill, but before the start of the next legislative session on Sept. 22, they added.
Former minister of economic affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光) resigned following the nationwide power outages on Aug. 15 and Shen, who was appointed acting minister, would formally hold the office with support from National Policy Advisor to the President Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥), sources said.
Chen would be replaced due to his alleged failure to defend the infrastructure plan, as well as controversy surrounding accusations of plagiarism in the council’s cost-benefit analysis for the program, sources said.
Party members blame Yeh for his purported failure to stem false rumors about a “crackdown” on incense-burning at temples, which resulted in protests against the government.
Yeh is also criticized for his failure to prevent anti-pension reform protesters from disrupting the Universiade opening ceremony and the slow pace of the recovery of assets from the National Women’s League that are believed to have been obtained through illicit means.
Rumors about a reshuffle have circulated since the anniversary of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) presidency in May.
There have been speculations that Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) or former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) might become the next premier.
Sources said that Tsai had asked her staff whether Premier Lin Chuan (林全) would be able to “pull through” and that Lin Chuan had offered to resign.
However, there were no plans to replace the premier, as there are unfinished tasks that require his expertise, including a proposed tax reform plan that is to be the Cabinet’s priority in the second half of the year, the sources said.
Relations between Tsai and Lin Chuan are solid, and the premier had not interfered with Tsai’s frequent requests that ministers report to her directly to ensure smooth coordination between the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan, the sources said.
A new premier might not allow Tsai to give direct instructions to the Cabinet on its policymaking process, the sources said.
The reshuffle next month could delay Tsai’s planned state visit to Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the Southern Pacific, they said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has scheduled the visit for early next month, but it might be delayed to after October, as the government would be preoccupied with the legislative review of infrastructure budget proposals, Cabinet appointments, military pension reform and tax reform, sources said.
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