A reshuffle of the Cabinet might occur in January in light of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) losses in local elections on Saturday, DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) said.
Hsu said on Sunday said the government has performed well since it took office, but the local election result suggested that a minor reshuffle might be needed.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) won in 13 of Taiwan’s 21 cities, including four of the country’s six largest metropolitan areas comprising 70 percent of the nation’s population.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The DPP lost three of the seven cities and counties it held, although it gained Penghu County.
Its poor results prompted President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to announce her resignation as party chairperson.
Party insiders attributed the losses to the party’s strategies in local campaigning.
The central government did not cause any controversy or make major mistakes, but it should have better communicated with the public when criticized, particularly over dated issues surrounding vaccines developed by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp, the party sources said.
The vaccine was approved for emergency use by Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration before its phase 3 clinical trials were complete, and was accepted by very few countries for entry during the era of stringent border restrictions.
Hsu said that a number of mayors and county commissioners who were not re-elected or are reaching their term limits could be recruited to join a reshuffled Cabinet.
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌), former Hsinchu City mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) and Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安) could be possible candidates given their track records, he said.
The DPP should stay united to assure the public that the government is on the right course and can win the presidency in 2024, he added.
DPP Legislator Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) said that people are generally satisfied with Tsai’s and Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) performance, and government stability should be a priority in the face of a changing world.
DPP Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said that the Cabinet should make a minor reshuffle in response to the public dissatisfaction reflected in the election result.
The most practical time for a reshuffle would be after the legislative session ends next month and budget proposals have been reviewed, Lai said.
The DPP must show that it listens to the people and responds accordingly, Lai said, adding that a new Cabinet would bring new ideas and help win back public faith.
Su should remain as premier to show political stability, and the DPP should proceed cautiously heading into the 2024 presidential election, he added.
A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator speaking anonymously said that Tsai is not likely to ask for Su’s resignation, and that his position as premier would favor the KMT’s chances in 2024.
Su yesterday said the DPP should heed the election result and craft policies attractive to a broad spectrum of the public.
He said that when he offered his verbal resignation to Tsai on Saturday evening, Tsai in rejecting the overture said he was needed to help respond to domestic and international challenges.
The party “must not relax” as the government adapts to a changing world, he added.
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The cosponsors of a new US sanctions package targeting Russia on Thursday briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation and said the legislation would also have a deterrent effect on China and curb its ambitions regarding Taiwan. The bill backed by US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal calls for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports — targeting nations such as China and India, which account for about 70 percent of Russia’s energy trade, the bankroll of much of its war effort. Graham and Blumenthal told The Associated Press
RSS