The Cabinet will be dissolved and reformed before the Legislative Yuan begins its next session, and former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) is the most likely person to become the new premier, party officials said yesterday.
The officials, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the victory of former Presidential Office secretary-general Yu Shyi-kun, who won the election with over 50 percent of the vote, established a new power structure in the party. This meant that a Cabinet reshuffle could move forward.
Yu's victory also paved the way for a return to politics by Su, who would take over the premiership. Su has been tapped by some party insiders as a possible contender for the DPP's 2008 presidential nomination.
Meanwhile, Premier Frank Hsieh (
As to the timetable for a Cabinet reshuffle, the DPP officials said that negotiations could take place before the Lunar New Year, with the final decision made after the holiday.
The next legislative session will begin in early February, and the new Cabinet should be in place by that time.
The officials said that, since the DPP's setback in the recent local-government elections, President Chen Shui-bian (
The preference among the party's leaders has been to let Su lead the Cabinet and Yu lead the party.
A reshuffle would also allow the administration to deal with another potential problem it faces: the rejection of its annual budget proposal by the Legislative Yuan.
Last week, the Cabinet decided to file a request asking the legislature to reconsider the proposal.
But this move did not have the full support of the Presidential Office, as well as a good number of DPP officials, since the idea of asking the legislature to reconsider the budget would likely result in another setback for the Chen administration, given the pan-blue camp's legislative clout, the officials said.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
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