Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Su and his Cabinet members took a group photo after presiding over the weekly Executive Yuan meeting earlier yesterday to commemorate the last day of his nearly 16-month tenure.
Su said that although he had met with numerous political challenges during the past 16 months, the help he received from the Cabinet enabled him to deal with the problems.
PHOTO: CNA
"I would not say we did a perfect job, but we definitely did something remarkable," he said.
"The unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent. The TAIEX reached 8,000 points," he said. "I think we managed to do something meaningful."
Su also talked about his "Big Warmth" plan. The plan is set to be implemented over a three-year period, and forms the first stage of the government's Economic Development Vision 2015 strategy. The total cost of the project is estimated at NT$1.17 trillion (US$35 million).
"Some of you might be leaving, while some of you may stay. But no matter what, I do hope that our policies can be continued, especially projects like the `Big Warmth' plan," Su said.
The stalled annual government budget proposal had also been a headache for Su.
"It has been my biggest frustration so far. I am leaving office, but I am not abandoning my people. I hope the budget issue can be resolved as soon as possible, so that the government can continue to work for the people," he said.
The Presidential Office yesterday confirmed that Chang had paid a visit to Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) in the morning, but declined to say whether they had discussed the new Cabinet line-up.
Yesterday morning Chang was tight-lipped about the Cabinet reshuffle, saying he would announce the new line-up when things are more settled. Late last night, however, Chang's office issued a statement stating that he had appointed Chiou as vice premier.
The statement said that Chen Chin-Jun (
Minister of Finance Ho Chih-chin (
Keeping the economic and financial team intact reflects the government's decision to maintain policy continuity and market stability, analysts said.
Chen Jin-jun was a three-term DPP legislator before he assumed the post of vice minister of transportation and communications last month.
Lu is a DPP legislator-at-large working on behalf of the underprivileged on the basis of his extended experience with labor unions.
Lu said that he would maintain the government's policy of increasing the minimum monthly wage.
"Premier Su Tseng-chang had said that the minimum wage proposal would be implemented in July. It won't be necessary to change the policy," he said.
He said the proposal had been agreed upon by labor representatives, employers and the government, and that the government should therefore live up to it.
The Central News Agency reported earlier yesterday that the country's representative to Germany, Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) would take the helm of the Government Information Office.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and CNA
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