Premier-designate Yu Shyi-kun yesterday presented his fourth and final round of Cabinet appointees, including the new economic affairs and finance ministers, completing the reshuffled Cabinet which is to be sworn in on Feb. 1.
Lee Yung-shan (
Christine Tsung (
"Expertise, personality and suitability are my main criteria for making the nominations," Yu said, downplaying media speculation that Lee's appointment was a decision made overnight.
Just hours before midnight on Wednesday, Benny Hu (
But according to local media reports, Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) -- Hu's former boss and current chairman of the CDIB -- opposed the appointment, prompting Yu and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to reconsider their choice and turn to former president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) finance wizard.
Yu stressed yesterday that he had the final say on all Cabinet appointments.
The new finance minister had turned down the offer at least three times before he finally agreed to take the post, Yu said.
Flatly denying that cronyism was also part of the decision-making process for the economic affairs and finance posts, Yu said that his ideal candidates were those with "a combination of industrial, academic and governmental backgrounds."
Assuring the media that they are suited for their new posts, Lee and Tsung yesterday outlined their qualifications for the tasks they have been assigned.
"My widespread contacts within the banking sector and academic circles will facilitate my future role as a bridge between the government and the private sector," Lee said.
Tsung said: "In the US, I had 15 years of experience working for the high-tech industry, a steel company and other traditional industries including the manufacturing sector."
Tsung added that she would soon relinquish her US citizenship before taking office.
Praising his successor, vice premier-designate Lin Hsin-yi (
Lin said he believed the two appointees would serve the people of Taiwan with a "customer-orientated" attitude.
Lee, 63, who holds a PhD in economics from the University of Wisconsin, had previously served as president of Chiao Tung Bank (交通銀行) and director of the Institute of Economics at Academia Sinica.
Tsung, 54, earned an MBA from the University of Missouri and studied management for one year at Washington University's graduate school before she worked as a marketing manager with Columbia Pictures and subsequently deputy CEO with US consumer-electronics company Electrolux.
She also served as a finance officer for the city government of Poway, near San Diego, California.
Other appointments yesterday included Lin Lin-san (林陵三) -- who will be promoted from vice minister to head up the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
Meanwhile, Lin's predecessor Yeh Chu-lan (
Incoming Minister without Portfolio Kuo Yao-chi (
Hu Sheng-cheng (
Ouyang Min-shen (
Altogether Yu's new Cabinet contains 39 members, of which 23 posts have changed hands and 16 have been retained by members of the previous Cabinet. With an average age of 53, 31 are male and eight are female.Also See Stories:
Observers say DPP gaining confidence
Newsmakers: Huang returns to education fold
Newsmakers: New GIO head boasts diverse experience
Editorial: Economics picks boost confidence
New MOEA chief turns some heads
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS