Premier-designate William Lai (賴清德) yesterday finalized the Cabinet reshuffle, adding only a handful of new faces while retaining the majority of ministers.
Only two ministers are being replaced: National Development Council Minister Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝) will today be replaced by Cabinet Secretary-General Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) and Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) is to become the new Financial Supervisory Commission chairman, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
Koo’s vacancy is to be filled by National Security Council adviser Lin Feng-jeng (林?正), Hsu said.
Acting Minister of Economic Affairs Sheng Jong-chin (沈榮津) is to be promoted to minister and National Development Council Deputy Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) is to be named Shen’s deputy.
Lai has named Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp (台灣證交所) chairman Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉) as the next vice premier and Democratic Progressive Party Deputy Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as the next Cabinet secretary-general.
All other ministers are to remain at their posts, including Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮), Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維), Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬), Minister of Finance Sheu Yu-jer (許虞哲), Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠), Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦), Minister of Labor Lin Mei-chu (林美珠), Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) Environmental Protection Administration Minister Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), Council of Agriculture Minister Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢), Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang (張小月), Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister Wu Hsin-hsing (吳新興), Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Icyang Parod and Hakka Affairs Council Minister Lee Yong-te (李永得).
The ministers without portfolio are Lin Wan-i (林萬億), Chang Ching-sen (張景森), Chen Mei-ling, Hsu Chang-yao (許璋瑤), John Deng (鄧振中), Audrey Tang (唐鳳), Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) and Wu Hong-mo (吳宏謀). All are incumbents, except for Chen Mei-ling.
CGA Director-General Lee Chung-wei (李仲威), Veterans Affairs Council Director Lee Shying-jow (李翔宙), Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民), Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Minister Jay Shih (施能傑), Public Construction Commission Minister Wu Hong-mo (吳宏謀) and Atomic Energy Council Minister Hsieh Shou-shing (謝曉星) are also to remain.
However, Deputy Minister of Labor Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) is to leave for personal reasons.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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