Soochow University president Liu Chao-Shiuan (劉兆玄) kept a low profile yesterday amid reports that he had accepted president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) invitation to serve as premier.
Liu, who served as vice premier in former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) administration — alongside vice president-elect Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), who served as premier — is a long-time adviser to Ma.
Liu said that he would not comment on the matter until Ma had formally announced his Cabinet line up.
“I respect Mr Ma’s right to form the new Cabinet and I think he will make a formal announcement at the right time,” Liu said yesterday when approached by reporters.
Chinese-language newspapers including the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) and the China Times, reported that Ma had visited Liu several times since the presidential election and had invited him to take the premiership.
Ma also considered Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp executive director Ou Chin-der (歐晉德) for the position before deciding on Liu as the new premier, the reports said.
Ma declined to comment on the reports yesterday. His spokesman Luo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said the president-elect would not answer questions about the Cabinet until its members had been formally announced.
KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday lauded Liu as an appropriate candidate, adding that he would respect Ma’s final decision.
After serving as vice premier, Liu became a close aide to former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰).
Holder of a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Toronto in Canada, Liu returned to academia after the KMT lost power to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the presidential election in 2000.
“He has a lot of experience in government,” said George Tsai (蔡瑋), a political science professor at Chinese Culture University in Taipei. “I think he’s more of a technocrat. To my recollection, he has no political enemies at all.”
Although the appointment is yet to be confirmed, several KMT legislators were upbeat about the possibility of having Liu as the next premier.
KMT caucus acting Secretary-General Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said the government would benefit from his administrative experience with Liu as the premier.
Asked to comment, KMT Legislator Shyu Jong-shyoung (徐中雄) said if Liu becomes premier, his experience as deputy premier would help ensure a smooth administrative transition.
KMT Legislator Chu Fong-chi (朱鳳芝) shared Shyu’s views.
“He [Liu] has served as vice premier and he has a good public image. He is the most appropriate candidate for the premiership,” Chu said.
KMT Legislator Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才) praised Liu, saying that his sophistication and low profile would be a bonus for the incoming administration.
Meanwhile, the DPP legislative caucus yesterday said Ma had chosen Liu for premier only because of their close relationship.
“As he is a long-time Ma supporter, I am not surprised that Liu would be chosen as the new premier,” DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said. “We expect the new premier to carry out Ma’s campaign promises.”
Lai said reinvigorating the economy and preventing black-gold politics from resurfacing were the most important priorities for the new premier. He said he respected Ma and his ability to choose the right person for the job.
“No matter who becomes the new premier, we DPP lawmakers will do our jobs to make sure that new Cabinet members do not misbehave,” Lai said.
Meanwhile, Ma’s spokesman yesterday urged local media to stop carrying stories about his and his family’s life. Ma are annoyed by recent coverage about their private lives, especially reports that have nothing to do with public affairs,” Luo said at KMT headquarters.
Some outlets have carrying stories detailing the private lives of Ma and his family members since he won the presidential election.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang, Jimmy Chuang
and agencies
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
‘IMPORTANCE OF PEACE’: President Lai was welcomed by AIT Managing Director Ingrid Larson, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and others President William Lai (賴清德) was feted with red carpets, garlands of flowers and “alohas” as he began his two-day stopover in Hawaii on Saturday, part of a Pacific tour. Looking relaxed in a Hawaiian shirt, Lai flitted around the US island state, visiting the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Hawaii’s leading museum of natural history and native Hawaiian culture, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Lai was given the “red carpet treatment” on the tarmac of Honolulu’s international airport, his office said, adding that it was the first time a Taiwanese president had been given such
RSS