Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) settled a minor Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, bringing Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源), an aide to People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), and Cyrus Chu (朱敬一), an academic known for his outspoken criticism of the government’s economic policies, into the Cabinet, as well as a replacement for outgoing Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良).
Lee, a professor of civil engineering at National Taiwan University, gained prominence in 1987 after he was brought in by Soong, then-Taiwan provincial governor, to handle flood prevention and water resources management.
His love life overtook his political career in 2009, when an extramarital affair with Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Legislator May Chin (高金素梅) led him to offer his resignation as deputy commissioner of Taipei County. During his time with the Taipei County government, Lee was often present when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) inspected hydraulic engineering projects.
Lee will replace Minister of the Public Construction Commission (PCC) Fan Liang-shiow (范良銹) and double as a minister without portfolio in the Cabinet office, Wu said.
Speaking by telephone, Lee said his priorities included river management, disaster prevention and land-use planning, as the PCC will be partly responsible for development after the government’s reconstruction plan is implemented next year.
Fan, 65, told reporters he was asked to see Wu a few days ago after he expressed his wish to end his 40 years of public service to spend more time with his family and hand over his responsibilities to a younger generation.
While Wu has asked Chu, an academician at Academia Sinica since 1998, to join the Cabinet, Chu has been traveling abroad and had yet to give final consent. He was scheduled to return home last night, Wu said.
Wu would not confirm whether Chu would replace Chang Chin-fu (張進福), minister without portfolio responsible for coordinating technology-related policies and executing the six flagship industries. Chang was appointed by former premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) to create momentum for development in the biotechnology, sophisticated energy, medical care, tourism and innovative culture sectors.
Chu, who has a doctorate in economics from the University of Michigan, recently resigned as chairman of the government-affiliated Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, a position he had held since July 2008.
Chu has often been consulted by Ma on economic issues and has published several newspaper articles critical of the government’s economic policies.
Meanwhile, Wu said Lee Yun-jie (李允傑), a professor of public administration at National Open University, would replace Wang Yu-ting (王昱婷) as National Youth Commission minister, while Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪), an attorney and consultant to Ma, would succeed Kao Su-po (高思博) as Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs minister.
Wang and Kao recently offered to resign amid accusations that some Cabinet members had refused to run in a legislative by-election.
Taipei Medical University president Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) has been tapped to succeed Yaung as Department of Health minister, the premier said.
Although there has been speculation that Mainland Affairs Council Minister Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) would be replaced, Wu praised her performance and said she would remain in the Cabinet.
The handover ceremony for the new ministers will be held next Wednesday, Wu said.
Minister Without Portfolio Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) told the Taipei Times by telephone last night that he also wanted to step down because he was tired of the job. At press time, Wu’s office had yet to confirm whether it would accept the resignation
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
‘BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS’: The US military’s aim is to continue to make any potential Chinese invasion more difficult than it already is, US General Ronald Clark said The likelihood of China invading Taiwan without contest is “very, very small” because the Taiwan Strait is under constant surveillance by multiple countries, a US general has said. General Ronald Clark, commanding officer of US Army Pacific (USARPAC), the US Army’s largest service component command, made the remarks during a dialogue hosted on Friday by Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Asked by the event host what the Chinese military has learned from its US counterpart over the years, Clark said that the first lesson is that the skill and will of US service members are “unmatched.” The second
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese