The Presidential Office last night confirmed that former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) would be the next premier, with a formal announcement to be made tomorrow.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) yesterday published an exclusive report saying that Chen had accepted the nomination following a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during the Lunar New Year holiday.
The nomination has to be approved by the Legislative Yuan, with opposition lawmakers vowing to scrutinize his performance if Chen was nominated.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Chen accepted the nomination because he believes the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) must be united for the presidential election in January next year, the report said, adding that the new Cabinet must strive to deliver the best performance within a little more than a year to support the DPP’s presidential candidate.
“I would like to remind the next premier that people would only feel safe and secure if the new premier heeds public opinion, addresses the nation’s rising crime rate and protects the nation’s cybersecurity systems,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Cultural and Communications Committee head Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) said.
“I also hope that the new premier would select Cabinet members from among professionals and experts. He should not pick those who lost in the nine-in-one local elections or from a narrow circle of people,” Hung added.
KMT caucus whip William Cheng (曾銘宗) said that the public would have an even more negative view of the DPP administration if Chen were to lead the Cabinet.
Chen “lacks administrative experience, and he had favored Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗),” Tseng said, referring to the developer of a local COVID-19 vaccine, which has been a target of KMT criticism.
“He also made controversial comments while campaigning for other candidates during the nine-in-one elections last year. The KMT caucus will scrutinize his performance and carefully question him when the next legislative session opens next month,” Tseng said.
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) said Chen would have no “honeymoon” once his nomination is approved.
“The country is experiencing all sorts of problems, from strained cross-strait relations to skyrocketing housing prices, stagnant salaries, delays in US arms sales to Taiwan, and a decline in agricultural and fishery product exports. These issues will have to be addressed immediately once he becomes premier,” Jang said.
DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) said Chen has a positive image as a public health expert.
“As the convener in charge of reforming the pension systems for military personnel, civil servants and public school teachers, Chen showed great communication skills. As a Catholic, he cares for the economically disadvantaged, and knows a lot of people in diplomatic and religious circles,” Hsu said.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would