Premier-designate William Lai (賴清德) has named Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp (台灣證交所) chairman Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉) as the next vice premier and Democratic Progressive Party Deputy Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as the next Cabinet secretary-general, the Executive Yuan said yesterday.
All incumbent ministers without portfolio will stay on, except for Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝), who serves concurrently as National Development Council minister, Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
Cabinet Secretary-General Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) is to take over both positions from Chen Tain-jy, said Hsu, who confirmed that he would stay on as Cabinet spokesman.
Photo: CNA
Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) is to become chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission, Hsu said.
Responding to criticism that Koo does not have a financial background, Hsu said that Koo, as a lawyer, was trained in financial law and has the legal expertise required in overseeing financial bodies.
Former FSC chairman Sean Chen and former minister of finance Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章) were also legal experts before they became financial chiefs, so Koo’s appointment should be acceptable, Hsu said.
Photo: CNA
All other appointments are to be announced today after Lai bids farewell to the Tainan City Government and council, Hsu said.
The new Cabinet is to be sworn in on Friday and an extraordinary Executive Yuan meeting is to be convened immediately, he said.
“Government management is a succession of works, and there are different missions in each stage. I will continue the policies unfinished by Premier Lin Chuan (林全) and employ the pragmatic ‘Tainan spirit’ to lead a new way,” Hsu quoted Lai as saying.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday denounced Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) for making false allegations about donations to Ukraine and disclosing confidential documents, with the ministry saying that it would take legal action. The ministry last year signed an agreement with the Czech Republic on a healthcare project to assist Ukraine, which is to be carried out by the Czech Health Technology Institute. Hsu accused the ministry of being indirectly involved in the party politics of the Czech Republic as institute chairman Petr Foit is a local medical supplier, and has close political