When Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) was elected as the youngest legislator in Taiwan history in 1984 at the age of 27, he had no idea what kind of political mark he would make in the years ahead. Now almost two decades later, he has been made the youngest Minister of the Interior in the nation's history.
The 44-year-old Yu and his family have strong ties to one of the DPP's heavyweight local factions in Kaohsiung County. Yu is also the leader of the DPP's Justice Alliance.
Because of Yu's close relationship to first lady Wu Shu-chen (
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has long promised to appoint Yu to the Cabinet, but politicians and political scientists have expressed doubts about Yu's qualifications.
Newly-appointed Premier Yu Shyi-kun, however, said that he was the one who decided to tap Yu for the ministry post. He emphasized that Yu's experiences in local government and in the Legislative Yuan make him a perfect candidate for the post.
"President Chen wanted to designate him as the deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office, but I insisted that [Yu] be named the Minister of the Interior," Yu Shyi-kun said.
Yu Cheng-hsien and the first lady were colleagues when they served as legislators 10 years ago. Yu took extra care of the first lady, who was disabled in a car accident. They remained close friends to this day.
In the 2000 presidential election, it was Yu's endorsement of Chen that helped the DPP contender receive the most votes in Kaohsiung County. Rumors about Yu's promotion to different positions have been prevalent ever since Chen took office.
Yu, however, objected to notions that his appointment was linked to his relationship with the first family. He argued that his experiences as a three-term legislator and two-terms as a commissioner are enough for any Cabinet post.
Others agreed.
"Yu's help to Wu was more like a boy scout's initiative, he had no idea at that time that Wu would be the first lady," said DPP lawmaker Chen Chi-mai (
DPP legislator Yu Jan-daw (余政道), Yu Cheng-hsien's younger brother, said his sibling is definitely qualified for the post, but that he should keep a low profile at first.
But Lin Ching-yao (
"He doesn't have a strong oratorical ability, or a good sense of policies and he can't deal with conflicts well," Lin said.
Huang Chih-hua (黃志華), a close aide to both Yu and Yu's mother, however, said that Yu is up to the job.
"He believes that the business of the Ministry of the Interior is an extension of county business and he thinks that he is well qualified. In my opinion, he should change the way he deals with conflicts in the future."
Officials and political scientists, however, expressed doubt over Yu's qualifications.
"Managing local government is totally different from managing national interior affairs. He probably needs time to get used to the central government's functions," said a ministry official.
Liao Da-chi (
"A local commissioner only needs to deal with local council members, but a minister has to deal with the Legislative Yuan, which is much more sophisticated," Liao said. "His second term in the county government didn't produce any remarkable achievements. His sense of policymaking probably needs to be strengthened."
Yu is from one of Kaohsiung County's three main factions, the Black Faction, which was established by his grandfather, Yu Deng-fa (余登發), four decades ago. Yu's older sister, Yu Lin-ya (余玲雅), is the vice chairperson of the Development and Evaluation Commission (研考會). His younger brother, Yu Jane-daw (余政道) and wife, Cheng Kuei-lien (鄭貴蓮), are both newly-elected DPP legislators.
Yu and his mother, Yu Chen Yueh-ying (
"It's not fair to link [his appointment] to the clan's efforts. We have tried very hard to erase that impression," Yu Jane-daw (余政道) said.
The International Industrial Talents Education Special (INTENSE) Program to attract foreigners to study and work in Taiwan will provide scholarships and a living allowance of up to NT$440,000 per person for two years beginning in August, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday. Pan was giving an update on the program’s implementation, a review of universities’ efforts to recruit international students and promotion of the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) program. Each INTENSE Program student would be awarded a scholarship of up to NT$100,000 per year for up to
Singapore yesterday swore in Lawrence Wong (黃循財) as the city-state’s new prime minister in a ceremony broadcast live on television after Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) stepped down following two decades in office. Wong, formerly deputy prime minister, was inaugurated at the Istana government office shortly after 8pm to become the second person outside the Lee family to lead the nation. “I ... do solemnly swear that I will at all times faithfully discharge my duties as prime minister according to law, and to the best of my knowledge and ability, without fear or favor, affection or ill-will. So help me God,” the
BASIC OPERATIONS: About half a dozen navy ships from both countries took part in the days-long exercise based on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea An unpublicized joint military exercise between Taiwan and the US in the Pacific Ocean last month was carried out in accordance with an international code, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. According to a Reuters report citing four unnamed sources, the two nations’ navies last month conducted joint drills in the Western Pacific. The drills were not made public at the time, but “about half-a-dozen navy ships from both sides, including frigates and supply and support vessels, participated in the days-long exercises,” Reuters reported, citing the sources. The drills were designed to practice “basic” operations such as communications, refueling and resupplies,
‘MONEY PIT’: The KMT’s more than NT$2 trillion infrastructure project proposals for eastern Taiwan lack professional input and financial transparency, the DPP said The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said it would ask the Executive Yuan to raise a motion to oppose the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ infrastructure proposals and prepare to file for a constitutional interpretation if the KMT-dominated legislature forces their passage. The DPP caucus described the three infrastructure plans for transportation links to eastern Taiwan proposed by the KMT as “three money pit projects” that would cost more than NT$2 trillion (US$61.72 billion). It would ask the Executive Yuan to oppose public projects that would drain state financial resources, DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said. It would also file for