The Presidential Office yesterday named Vice Premier Chang Chung-hsiung (
Chang immediately took office and held his first weekly Cabinet meeting, where outgoing Premier Tang Fei (
Chang said that the Cabinet reshuffle triggered by Tang's resignation would be small and announced no later than today in order to maintain political stability.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The new premier yesterday confirmed, however, that Minister of National Defense Wu Shih-wen (
Su Tzen-ping (
Sources in the Cabinet revealed that Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (
In addition, deputy secretary general of the National Security Council (NSC, 國安會) Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), is to be the Cabinet secretary-general, replacing Wea Chi-lin (魏啟林).
Editor in chief of the Taipei Times Antonio Chiang (司馬文武) will replace Chiou as the new deputy secretary-general of the NSC.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development Chen Po-chih (
"New appointments of Cabinet members will be based on their professionalism instead of their party affiliation," Chang said at a press conference after yesterday's Cabinet meeting, adding that he would fulfill the president's ideal of "government for all the people" (
In addition, Chang set goals to initiate the so-called "Chen-Chang administration" -- essentially a minority government. "I hereby proclaim that political stability and economic development will be the Cabinet's top administrative priorities," Chang said, adding that he felt cautious and apprehensive after he was informed about his appointment, which was given on short notice.
"However, I will put all the Cabinet's effort into reinforcing coordination among the Cabinet, the legislature and opposition parties, as well as strengthening cooperation among parties," Chang said.
Chang said that the 2001 national spending plan, which was returned to the Cabinet by the legislature yesterday, would be modified and submitted again as soon as possible.
Expressing his gratitude for Tang's contribution during the past four months, Chang said, "Tang has brought peace and stability to the country [
Tang yesterday morning expressed his sorrow at leaving the Cabinet and modestly called himself a "deserter" (
"I've fought a good fight. I have finished my course and I'm left with only good memories," he said.
During yesterday's Cabinet meeting, the controversy over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant was put on the agenda for discussion, but Chang postponed it.
However, according to DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), Chang is unlikely to announce the continuation of the plant's construction since he is a DPP member.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
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