The Presidential Office yesterday said it has approved the resignations of National Security Council Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) and Presidential Office Secretary-General Timothy Yang (楊進添), despite President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) repeatedly calling for the two officials to remain in their posts.
King is to be succeeded by former minister of national defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) and Yang by former deputy legislative speaker Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權). The new appointments are set to take effect on Thursday next week.
The Presidential Office said that Yang tendered his resignation several days ago on the grounds that his mission had been completed, and, after being asked to remain by the president, resubmitted his resignation citing the need to take care of his elderly mother.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Yang’s second attempt to resign was approved, and, in accordance with precedent, he is to be hired as a senior adviser to the president, the Presidential Office said.
King resigned for “personal health and family reasons” and was also asked not to leave by the president several times, according to the Presidential Office.
King reportedly underwent a coronary artery stenting procedure in October last year.
Photo: Luo Pei-teh, Taipei Times
A source told CNA that King had another heart operation last week, and his family has insisted that he leave his post due to the workload and pressure.
According to a CNA report, King is not expected to work in the near future.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said he was surprised about the resignations, adding that Kao taking over the national security council was incomprehensible, as he previously resigned from his post as minister of national defense due to health concerns.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
“The changes to power brought about by the shuffle between King and Kao are not easily understood. We hope that the Presidential Office would disclose more information regarding the arrangement so that the nation can have a clearer idea of what is going on,” Huang said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said King’s resignation also took him by surprise: “I seriously don’t know why [he resigned]; maybe he has other plans for his life.”
Meanwhile, Charles Chen (陳以信), previously deputy commissioner of the KMT's Culture and Communication Committee, is to replace Yin Wei (殷偉) as one of the Presidential Office's spokespersons, with the other being Ma Wei-kuo (馬瑋國). Yin will serve as the president's secretary, in charge of the president's speechwriting team.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
‘LAGGING BEHIND’: The NATO secretary-general called on democratic allies to be ‘clear-eyed’ about Beijing’s military buildup, urging them to boost military spending NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte mentioning China’s bullying of Taiwan and its ambition to reshape the global order has significance during a time when authoritarian states are continuously increasing their aggression, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. In a speech at the Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels on Thursday, Rutte said Beijing is bullying Taiwan and would start to “nibble” at Taiwan if Russia benefits from a post-invasion peace deal with Ukraine. He called on democratic allies to boost defense investments and also urged NATO members to increase defense spending in the face of growing military threats from Russia
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
RSS