Premier-designate Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced more new members of his Cabinet that is to take office on May 20, with five of those appointed keeping their posts and one new face being introduced.
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲), Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) and Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Director-General Su Chun-jung (蘇俊榮) are to keep their posts, Cho told a news conference in Taipei.
Acting Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) is to formally head the agency in the new Cabinet, Cho said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The only new face announced yesterday was Tainan Research, Development and Evaluation Commission head Chen Shu-tzu (陳淑姿), who was named to lead the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
Most of the people announced yesterday are agency heads, and they have all worked in the public sector for decades and are seasoned officials, Cho said.
“Their rich experience and commitment to teamwork would facilitate the new government’s transition and drive the implementation of policies,” he said.
Cho said that Chen Shu-tzu has served at the local government level for years and was involved in the merger of Tainan County and Tainan City into a special municipality in 2010.
The 67-year-old also participated in financial planning in Tainan and helped significantly reduce the debt owed by the city government, which allowed more funding to be allocated to local flood control efforts, he added.
The premier-designate said he hoped to take advantage of her expertise to expand the central government’s investments in society and allocate resources fairly.
Chen Junne-jih, 65, was deputy agriculture minister before being named acting minister in September last year after his predecessor, Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), resigned over a controversy involving imported eggs.
Chuang and Hsu were deputy heads of their respective agencies before assuming their current posts in January last year following a Cabinet reshuffle.
Cho lauded Kuan’s efforts to promote marine conservation laws and her experience in overseeing the Coast Guard Administration, including its efforts to deal with unidentified boats illegally entering the country’s waters.
Su is to remain in the post that he has held since 2022.
Cho commended Su for his efforts to digitize personnel management and said that he would continue to serve civil servants and the public attentively.
With the announcements, 26 members of the new Cabinet have been named, including the premier, vice premier, Cabinet secretary-general and Cabinet spokesperson.
Still to be named are the foreign affairs and defense ministers, the head of the Mainland Affairs Council, and seven to nine ministers without portfolio.
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS