The man in line to become the nation's next premier was busy receiving possible new Cabinet members yesterday at his official residence in downtown Taipei.
Yu Shyi-kun, currently the secretary-general to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), may announce the new Cabinet lineup this afternoon.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
According to sources at the Presidential Office, the new Cabinet members could be sworn in on Wednesday.
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Seen entering Yu's residence yesterday were Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), Cabinet secretary-general; Su Tzen-ping (蘇正平), head of the Government Information Office; Chen Che-nan (陳哲男), deputy secretary-general to the president; and Chang Fu-mei (張富美), chairwoman of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission.
According to sources, President Chen has already decided who will head the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council. The president will let the new premier appoint the other members of the new "combative Cabinet," they said.
Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is expected to retain her post as chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council. Chief of the General Staff Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) is expected to be promoted to defense minister.
Eugene Chien (
Sources say Vice Premier Lai In-jaw (賴英照) is likely to step down from his post. The vacancy may be filled by a non-DPP member with a strong financial background.
Lai, who served on the Council of Grand Justices before taking up his current position, might return to his previous job.
Chiou also may step down and be appointed as a minister without portfolio.
Other Cabinet officials who might step down include Chang Po-ya (
Those likely to hang onto their jobs include Chen Ding-nan (
Yen and Tang are two of the five KMT members who hold positions in the current Cabinet.
Premier Chang remained low key yesterday over the impending Cabinet reshuffle. "I totally respect the decision made by President Chen," Chang said yesterday on an environmental inspection trip conducted in his hometown of Kaohsiung.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
RSS