A Cabinet reshuffle is to be finalized later this week, with more than five senior officials expected to be replaced, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.
While confirming that the reshuffle would be completed this week, Cho declined to elaborate on the scale of the change.
However, he acknowledged that more than five ministers or deputy ministers would be replaced, given that some officials had already tendered their resignations.
Photo: CNA
He was referring to Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝), who cited health concerns after 15 months in office, and Minister of Digital Affairs Huang Yen-nun (黃彥男), who said he would return to his previous research work. Deputy Minister of Education Benson Yeh (葉丙成) has also tendered his resignation.
Cho said the reshuffle would be the result of a “comprehensive” review of the current Cabinet and reflect new policy priorities that President William Lai (賴清德) pledged last week.
Shortly after recall votes targeting seven Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers failed on Saturday, dealing a blow to his government, Lai vowed that the new Cabinet would ensure that his administration would be more effective in solving problems and responsive to public opinion.
Lai said that while Cho had also expressed an intention to step down, he had been persuaded to stay on as premier.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has suffered major setbacks after failed attempts to push for the recall of 31 KMT lawmakers and having a 20 percent baseline tariff imposed on Taiwanese goods sold to the US, prompting the party to make changes.
Lai said that his administration would prioritize an agenda focused on the economy and people’s livelihoods, and pursue more dialogue with the opposition. The administration had been engaged in a stand-off with the opposition-controlled legislature since Lai took office in May last year.
Cho yesterday said that the Cabinet would work toward improving its relationship with opposition leaders and lawmakers, as several bills concerning budgets and special allocations still require legislative approval.
“[We] hope the legislature will give us this opportunity,” he said.
However, the government’s ongoing challenges of several opposition-backed bills passed by the legislature at the Constitutional Court are “not open for discussion,” he said.
Over the past year, the DPP government has brought several pieces of legislation to court in an effort to overturn them, including the 2025 central government budget and measures mandating a larger share of tax revenue for local governments.
The Cabinet also plans to challenge in court the legislature’s approval of increases in military personnel allowances.
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
Taiwan’s economy grew far faster than expected in the first quarter, as booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove a surge in exports, spilling over into investment and consumption, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. GDP growth was 13.69 percent year-on-year during the January-to-March period, beating the DGBAS’ February forecast by 2.23 percentage points and marking the most robust growth in nearly four decades, DGBAS senior official Chiang Hsin-yi (江心怡) told a news conference in Taipei. The result was powered by exports, which remain the backbone of Taiwan’s economy, Chiang said. Outbound shipments jumped 51.12 percent year-on-year to
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
RSS