The foreign affairs, national defense and Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) ministers are to remain in their posts under the new Cabinet, incoming premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) wrote on Facebook yesterday.
The Central News Agency (CNA) quoted Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is the new Cabinet spokesperson, as saying that the appointments were made after a discussion between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Chen Chien-jen.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) and MAC Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) are expected to continue to carry out defense, foreign affairs and cross-strait policies, Chen Tsung-yen said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The CNA report quoted an anonymous source as saying that Chiu Kuo-cheng is to stay in his post to facilitate the extension of mandatory military service this year, while Wu and Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) are to remain “to continue practical diplomacy.”
The CNA report said that former Taipei City councilor Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) would be the new MAC deputy minister, and quoted an anonymous source as saying that the appointment would help foster new talent in cross-strait affairs.
Straits Exchange Foundation Vice Chairman and Secretary-General Jan Jyh-horng (詹志宏) and MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) are to switch positions, while MAC Deputy Minister Wu Mei-hung (吳美紅) would become Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) Deputy Minister and OAC Deputy Minister and Coast Guard Administration Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) would remain in his post, it said.
On Saturday, Chen Chien-jen on Facebook named former Keelung mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) as minister of the interior, Deputy Minister of Culture Hsiao Tsung-huang (蕭宗煌) as director of the National Palace Museum, and Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Shih Che (史哲) as the minister of culture.
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠), Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥), Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材), Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元), Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) and Environmental Protection Administration Minister Chang Tzi-chin (張子敬) would all remain in their posts, Chen Chien-jen said.
He is also retaining Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Huang Tien-mu (黃天牧), Veterans Affairs Council Minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬), Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Icyang Parod and Hakka Affairs Council Minister Yiong Con-ziin (楊長鎮).
While former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) is rumored to become the new deputy minister of labor, former Taoyuan mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is to become vice premier, was quoted by CNA yesterday as saying that the full Cabinet list would be completed today, with the names of new deputy ministers to be announced this afternoon.
Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) Cabinet is to officially resign today, clearing the way for the new Cabinet to be sworn in during a handover ceremony tomorrow.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
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