Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) is to be appointed President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) chief adviser on national security affairs, a Presidential Office source said yesterday.
King is to take over the post of secretary-general of the National Security Council from Jason Yuan (袁健生), who is to be named a senior adviser to the president, the source said on condition of anonymity.
A “senior diplomat” will be appointed to fill the post of the nation’s representative to Washington, the source said, without giving a name.
Photo:CNA
The new appointments are part of the government’s efforts to promote regional peace and prosperity, and cope with new challenges in trade and economic relations with the US, cross-strait developments and changes in the national defense system, the source said.
In his new position, King will help the government improve its security cooperation with the US and push for Taiwan’s bid to join regional trade blocs, mainly the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership and ASEAN’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the source said.
The connections that King has built in Washington during his posting will be very helpful to these efforts, the source said.
King replaced Yuan as head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US in December 2012.
King’s good political judgement and deep understanding of Taiwan’s situation can contribute to the government’s efforts to promote cross-strait ties, which have entered a new phase since the two sides began engaging in government-to-government exchanges, the source added.
Commenting on King’s new appointment, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson Chang Tun-han (張惇涵) yesterday said the Ma administration places little value on maintaining good Taiwan-US relations.
King lacks experience in handling cross-strait and national defense matters, and his transfer is not in the best interests of the nation, Chang said.
DPP Policy Research Committee executive director Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said that King lacks the personal and professional experience to become the head of the National Security Council, a vital government unit tasked with overseeing cross-strait matters and foreign diplomacy.
Wu also questioned the timing of his transfer, with many suspecting it to be a ploy to manipulate the local elections in November.
The 57-year-old King, widely considered to be Ma’s closest aide, served as Taipei deputy mayor from 2004 to 2006, when Ma was mayor.
A year after he was elected president in 2008, Ma, who doubles as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman, appointed King as party secretary-general.
During the 2012 presidential election, King helped Ma with his re-election bid, serving as executive director of the president’s campaign office.
With a doctorate in journalism from the University of Texas in Austin, King has also taught at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University and at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
In other news, the Executive Yuan yesterday said that Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) had approved the resignation of Cabinet spokeswoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) and appointed Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群), vice chairman of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), to take her place.
At the FTC, Sun succeeded in establishing a sound communication system between the administrative arm of the government and the media, the Cabinet said.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang
BAIL APPEALS: The former vice premier was ordered to be held incommunicado despite twice being granted bail and paying a total of NT$12 million in bond The Taoyuan District Court yesterday ordered the detention of former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is being investigated for alleged corruption while serving as Taoyuan mayor from December 2014 to December 2022, and that he be held incommunicado. The court made the ruling during a bail hearing after prosecutors appealed its bail ruling twice. Cheng on Saturday was released after posting bail of NT$5 million (US$153,818). However, after prosecutors lodged an appeal, the High Court on Monday revoked the original ruling and ordered the Taoyuan District Court to hold another bail hearing. On Tuesday, the district court granted bail to Cheng a second
The Thai government on Friday announced that Taiwanese would be allowed to stay in the country for up to 60 days per entry, under the Southeast Asian country’s visa-free program starting from today. Taiwan is among 93 countries included in the Thai visa-waiver program, which has been expanded from 57 countries, with the visa-exempt entry extended from 30 to 60 days. After taking office last year, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to grant more visa waivers to foreign travelers as part of efforts to stimulate tourism. The expanded visa-waiver program was on Friday signed by Thai Minister of the Interior Anutin
PEACE AND SECURITY: China’s military ambitions present ‘the greatest strategic challenge to Japan and the world, Japan’s annual defense white paper said yesterday Japan yesterday warned that China risked escalating tensions with Taiwan with an increase in military exercises that appeared aimed in part at readying Beijing’s forces for a possible invasion. Japan’s annual assessment of security threats, including those posed by China, North Korea and Russia, comes as Taiwan closely monitors Chinese People’s Liberation Army air and sea exercises, including one with the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. The drills are the latest in a series including maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait last year that a senior US general said would be key to any invasion. “Because of that increase in military activity,
HAN KUANG: The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers said The armed forces would for the first time test new rules of engagement (ROE) at this month’s annual Han Kuang exercises, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers told a news conference in Taipei. ROE cards would be issued to select combat troops to test their ability to function without tight control, they said. The most recent edition of the rules was published last year, they said. One of the cards’ two templates identifies enemy targets that soldiers