Premier-designate Tang Fei (
Economist Lo Fu-chuan (
With the Cabinet-building now completed, President-elect Chen Shui-bian (
Chen, Tang and the new Cabinet will take office on May 20.
Chen Po-chih was yesterday reported as having agreed to the nomination as chairman of the CEPD, which acts as an official think tank to advise the government on economic planning, and a coordinator between different ministries in promoting crucial cross-agency policies.
The completed financial and economic team includes Lin Chuan (
The incoming CEPD head is believed to have had a close relationship with both outgoing President Lee Teng-hui (
He has also been a principle architect of the so-called "no haste, be patient (
He told reporters yesterday, however, that there was a need to review and rectify the policy due to the government's efforts to enter the WTO. But he insisted that the policy should not be abolished.
In related news, Schive Chi (
Hsia, the incumbent head of the AEC's research institute on nuclear energy, is to become the AEC's chairman, an appointment confirmed by government spokesman-designate Chung Ching (
According to Chung, Hsia received a PhD in nuclear engineering from MIT and has worked for the AEC for more than 10 years.
Another important appointment in the foreign relations field is also reportedly about to be confirmed.
Lo, an academic at the UN University in Japan, is likely to take over for Chuang Ming-yao (莊銘耀), secretary general-designate of National Security Council, as representative to Japan.
DPP lawmaker Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) was quoted as saying yesterday that Lo has served in the UN to resolve economic issues in developing Asian countries and is therefore familiar in political circles in many Asian countries.
The navy has installed 13 Phalanx Block 1B close-in weapons systems on its warships, increasing their defensive firepower, a defense official said on Saturday. The systems cost the navy NT$10.16 billion (US$314.67 million), while eight additional Block 1A systems are being upgraded in the US and are expected to be delivered next year, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Phalanx system used by Taiwan to defend its warships and key radar installations is a radar-cued gun system capable of firing 4,500 rounds a minute at targets as far away as 1.5km, the official said. With their superior range of
RACE FOR CHIPS: The Dresden site would help Europe reduce its reliance on Asia for semiconductors, while Germany aims to produce one-fifth of the world’s chips by 2030 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday broke ground in Dresden, Germany, on its first European plant as the continent seeks to safeguard its chip supplies amid growing US-China tensions. TSMC chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) attended the event, together with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the heads of Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors NV and Robert Bosch GmbH, which each hold a 10 percent stake in the venture. TSMC owns a 70 percent stake in the plant. “Together with our partners, Bosch, Infineon and NXP, we are building our Dresden facility to meet the
‘CLOSE TIES’: Former Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda also attended the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security and spoke of Taiwan’s importance globally China’s authoritarian expansionism would not stop with Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, calling for solidarity among the world’s democracies to check Beijing’s territorial ambitions. Taiwan is determined to become a decisive force for democracy, peace and prosperity, standing side-by-side with its democratic partners to confront authoritarian expansionism and protect shared values, he told the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security in Taipei. Authoritarianism is now a global challenge, Lai said, using as examples Chinese military expansionism, economic coercion and the use of hybrid warfare tactics such as cyberattacks and cognitive warfare. “We are all fully aware that China’s growing authoritarianism will
RECOVERY: Overall, average income across all age groups increased, climbing to a record NT$709,000 last year, on the back of an improved economy, the DGBAS said Taiwanese workers under the age of 30 last year, on average, earned an annual income of NT$545,931 (US$17,044), a new high, as the economy continued to improve, data released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. That equated to monthly earnings of NT$45,494 per person, and marked an increase from NT$535,667 in 2022, the data showed. In addition to an improved economy, average incomes rose as the unemployment rate declined and the minimum wage rose, the statistics agency said. Overall, average income in Taiwan also hit a new record of NT$709,000 last year, up from NT$704,000 in 2022, the data