Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) was mentioned by political figures and media yesterday as the likely candidate to head the National Security Council (NSC), amid rumors of an upcoming Cabinet reshuffle.
King was tipped to take up the job in June, replacing NSC Secretary-General Jason Yuan (袁健生), who is said to be having health issues.
The speculations started after King reportedly had a private conversation on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) about Yuan’s health.
It was reported that King explained to Chiu that he returned to Taiwan early last month to establish a communication platform between Taiwan and the US.
“[NSC Secretary-General Jason] Yuan is not in good health and as a result no progress was made on the program. That was why I had to come back to Taiwan to handle it,” King was quoted by media as saying to Chiu.
However, Chiu yesterday denied the reports.
“King did not make any complaints about Yuan’s health… Some of the media reports were not true,” Chiu said, but she refused to reveal details of her conversation with King.
King tried to clarify the matter yesterday when asked about the alleged conversation by media.
“I only spoke to Chiu for about one minute. Also, how could I have made such critical remarks about the NSC secretary-general to a DPP legislator?” King said.
Speculation has become rife in political circles about a Cabinet reshuffle, either prior to or just after the Lunar New Year holidays. King replacing Yuan in the NSC post was one of the likely changes mentioned, along with rumors of King taking up the post of vice premier.
Other speculation about likely ministerial changes in a Cabinet reshuffle centered around Environmental Protection Administration Minister Stephen Sheng (沈世宏), Hakka Affairs Council Minister Huang Yu-cheng (黃玉振), Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和), Minister of the Interior Lee Hung-yuan (李鴻源) and Executive Yuan spokesperson Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文).
Additional reporting by Su Fang-ho, Yang Fu-yi and Lo Tien-bin
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS