Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday dismissed a newspaper report that said the only way for President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to show goodwill toward China would be to reshuffle the Cabinet.
The president does not need the opinion of other countries to make plans, Su added.
Citing an anonymous “key cross-strait policymaker” in the government, the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that the only way Tsai’s administration could extend its goodwill toward China would be through a Cabinet reshuffle.
Beijing could reciprocate by lifting a ban on individual travelers to Taiwan, as well as allowing larger tour groups and more officials handling Taiwan affairs to visit the nation, the United Daily quoted the source as saying.
Tsai would likely accept the goodwill of Beijing, which controls the situation, the source was quoted as saying.
“Taiwan is a sovereign nation... At the start of her second term, President Tsai will have new plans and take new measures. Other countries should not poke their noses into this,” Su said in response to media queries about the report.
The Chinese-language China Times yesterday reported that Tsai would likely be re-elected as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson, while Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) would replace Chen Chu (陳菊), who plans to retire, as Presidential Office secretary-general.
Su Tseng-chang would stay on as premier, while former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) would be named legislative speaker and would share the duty of presiding over legislative proceedings with Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌), the report said.
DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) would likely become a Cabinet member, as he has extensive administrative experience and was instrumental in securing the DPP’s election victories on Saturday last week, it said.
Asked for his thoughts on Su Jia-chyuan becoming Presidential Office secretary-general, Su Tseng-chang said that Su Jia-chyuan is a very capable person, but that he would respect Tsai’s plans.
Asked about members of the DPP’s former New Tide faction having been left out of any reshuffle and whether the move was aimed at balancing power among the factions, Su Tseng-chang said the party would not give in to factionalism after winning the elections.
As a democratic party, rivalry within the party would inevitably spark competition between factions, but the DPP must prioritize the expectations of the people, who just gave Tsai another term, the premier said.
Tsai would certainly base her actions on public opinion and make any plans based on each government official’s expertise, he said.
The Presidential Office yesterday rejected the China Times’ report.
The office would respect the autonomy of the legislature and the caucuses in electing the legislative speaker, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said, adding that the report was baseless.
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