President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed two new National Security Council (NSC) deputy secretaries-general and advisory committee members, who are to take their new positions immediately, the Presidential Office announced today.
NSC deputy secretaries-general Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) and Liu Te-chin (劉得金) are to be advisory committee members, while their former positions are to be filled by current Presidential Office spokesperson Lii Wen (李問) and Taipei City Councilor Vincent Chao (趙怡翔).
The four new appointees would help Taiwan better respond to changing international situations, infiltration by foreign hostile forces and “gray zone” challenges,” Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a news release.
Photo: Taipei Times
In addition to serving as NSC deputy secretary-general, Hsu has served as deputy minister of foreign affairs, president of the Taiwan Foundation of Democracy and associate research fellow at the Academia Sinica Institute of Political Science, the office said.
With well-rounded academic and practical experience, he is well-versed in diplomacy and cross-strait politics, it said.
Liu, who also served as NSC deputy secretary-general, previously served as inspector-general of the Ministry of National Defense, deputy commander of the army and commander of the 8th Field Army, it said.
These experiences have made him familiar with international military cooperation, intelligence research and national defense strategic analysis, it added.
Hsu and Liu have been highly praised for their handling of national security matters under both former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Lai, Kuo said.
Before serving as a Taipei city councilor, Chao served as director of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of International Affairs, adjunct researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the US and head of the Political Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, the office said.
Chao graduated from York University’s political science department in Toronto and Birkbeck, University of London’s international economic law master’s program, it said.
He has also worked with the Presidential Office, NSC and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it added.
Lii graduated from National Taiwan University’s Department of Anthropology and earned a master’s degree in social science from the University of Chicago, the office said.
In addition to serving as Presidential Office spokesperson, Lii served as director of the DPP Department of International Affairs, chair of the DPP Lienchiang County Chapter and deputy director of the DPP’s Department of China Affairs, it said.
He has also worked with the NSC and Prospect Foundation, and long been concerned with national security strategies and international communication, it added.
Lai hopes to draw on the two new advisory committee members’ expertise in diplomacy and national defense, as well as the innovative thinking of the two younger appointees to strengthen the national security team, Kuo said.
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