Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Xavier Chang (張惇涵) is to be appointed secretary-general of the Executive Yuan to replace Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), who is to be appointed minister of economic affairs, people familiar with the matter said today.
A mass Cabinet reshuffle is expected to be implemented after tomorrow’s second recall vote.
Kung, a financial expert and former minister of the National Development Council (NDC), is expected to replace current Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝), they said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Meanwhile, Kuo is to step down after calls for his resignation from both the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the sources said.
As negotiations continue over US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff policy, the new lineup is to focus efforts on Cabinet finances and economic policy, they said.
Of the three major Cabinet positions, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) are to retain their positions, while Kung is to be reappointed, the sources said.
Despite his previous role as Presidential Office spokesperson, Chang would not take the role of Cabinet spokesperson, leaving Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) in her role, they added.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
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