Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Deputy Secretary-General Steve Chan (詹啟賢) yesterday dismissed speculation that he would take over as vice premier.
Chan, the president of Kuo Kwang Biotechnology Company, said he was focused on the production of A(H1N1) vaccine and on relief work in the wake of Typhoon Morakot.
“I don’t have time to worry about the [Cabinet reshuffle] ... The president and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) will handle the issue,” he said at KMT headquarters.
Liu is expected to reshuffle the Cabinet on Monday.
Liu said on Tuesday the Cabinet reshuffle would be moderate, reflecting its performance over the past year. Criticism of the government’s response to Typhoon Morakot will not be the sole consideration, he said.
“I have been observing the situation for more than a year and was simply waiting for an appropriate time to announce [changes],” Liu said, adding that the Cabinet’s handling of the global financial crisis would also be factored in.
Observers have speculated that the most senior official to be held responsible for the response to Morakot will be Vice Premier Paul Chiu (邱正雄) as head of the government’s emergency response team.
Meanwhile, the KMT’s Central Standing Committee yesterday approved the nomination of former Hualien County Agricultural Development Office director Tu Li-hua (杜麗華) for the Hualien County commissioner election.
KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) urged party members to join forces to win the year-end local elections.
In response to statements by KMT Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) and Hualien County Deputy Commissioner Chang Chih-ming (張志明) that they would run as independent candidates if not nominated by the KMT for the Hualien race, Wu urged party members to respect party regulations.
“Party members should follow party rules and fulfill their obligations,” he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
Also See: EDITORIAL: Liu must go
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