Former Mainland Affairs Council chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (
"It is confirmed that Tsai will serve as vice premier," Su told reporters yesterday. "She is a talented person well-versed in economic and financial affairs and cross-strait relations."
Tsai, who is a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator-at-large, has a doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is widely regarded as a cool strategist.
An articulate academic-turned-politician, Tsai is also known for her negotiating skills. She played a key role in talks that led to Taiwan's accession to the WTO in 2002.
Tsai can be expected to fill in major gaps for Su, who has keen political skills but little experience in international affairs or cross-strait relations.
Vice President Annette Lu (
Su, a former DPP chairman, was appointed premier by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on Thursday in a bid to revive the government's flagging popularity.
Yesterday, Su said he would appoint Cabinet Deputy Secretary-General Liu Yu-shan (劉玉山) to the post of secretary-general in the new Cabinet.
Su also confirmed a number of personnel for Cabinet posts relating to economics and finance (see graphic).
Su will name other Cabinet members in a major reshuffle before his team is sworn in next week after Premier Frank Hsieh (
Su yesterday said that "it is hard to calculate personnel arrangements mathematically," but that he was trying "to put the right people in the right places."
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New ministers of economics and finance appointed
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
A global survey showed that 60 percent of Taiwanese had attained higher education, second only to Canada, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan easily surpassed the global average of 43 percent and ranked ahead of major economies, including Japan, South Korea and the US, data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for 2024 showed. Taiwan has a high literacy rate, data released by the ministry showed. As of the end of last year, Taiwan had 20.617 million people aged 15 or older, accounting for 88.5 percent of the total population, with a literacy rate of 99.4 percent, the data
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be