President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday tapped former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) to be the new premier, set to take office after the inauguration on May 20.
Lai made the announcement at a news conference in Taipei, at which he unveiled the slogan “an active and innovative Cabinet,” or “AI” Cabinet.
Cho served as Cabinet secretary-general from 2017 to 2018 under Lai as premier.
Photo: CNA
He was also elected chair of the Democratic Progressive Party following its defeat in the 2018 local elections.
During his tenure from 2019 to 2020, Cho played a key role in navigating a contentious primary race between Lai and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Cho is known as being a relatively soft-spoken negotiator, with more than three decades of experience in government as a city councilor, legislator, presidential secretary-general and Cabinet member.
More recently, Cho was a member of a “study group” convened by Lai that helped formulate the candidate’s national infrastructure platform, and served as a key member of Lai’s presidential campaign, organizing overseas support organizations.
At the event, Lai also named former minister of culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) as vice premier, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) as secretary-general and former Taichung city councilor Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) as spokesman.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope