Within a span of eight months, Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) was promoted from DPP lawmaker to deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office in May of last year. He has since been promoted again, and will assume the position of Cabinet spokesperson on Feb. 1.
Cho, seen as the top aide and long-time follower of incoming premier Frank Hsieh (
PHOTO: YEH CHIH-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
"Viewing Cho as merely Hsieh's man is not entirely true," said an official with the Presidential Office who asked not to be named.
"President Chen Shui-bian (
In last year's presidential campaign, Cho served as deputy manager of Chen and Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) campaign.
Cho's main job was to integrate support of pro-DPP local factions, seek grassroots votes and even solicit support from the opposition, said the official.
"Cho accomplished his job with high efficiency, which met Chen's expectations," the official said. "He therefore won the trust of the president. To cultivate young talent, the president decided to quickly promote Cho," he added.
Noting his hard-working nature, Cho once said "I lost 7kg in three months during the [presidential] campaign."
However, unavoidably, Cho, who still refers to Hsieh as "teacher" in person, has been benefiting from Hsieh's endorsement.
Cho, 49, earned a bachelor's degree in law from National Chunghsing University. During the 1980s, he worked as Hsieh's assistant when Hsieh served as a Taipei City councilor and then as a legislator. Cho's job at the time was to preside over constituency services and campaign activities.
He then served two terms as a Taipei City councilor from 1990-1998 and two terms as a legislator from 1998 to last year.
In 2001, when President Chen became chairman of the DPP and reformed the party, he appointed many young politicians to head the party's departments.
Cho became the head of the party's social development department, taking responsibility for grassroots organization nationwide.
After the presidential inauguration last May, Cho was nominated by Chen as deputy secretary general of the Presidential Office.
Serving as Chen's assistant, Cho's job was to look after domestic affairs, which involved integrating Presidential Office activities with those of civil groups.
In addition, he was also in charge of Chen's local visit itinerary, and assisted him in communicating with academics and other influential people of different fields.
"Since the job suited Cho's background and experience, he did very well," said chairman of the Council of Hakka Affairs and a close friend of Cho -- Luo Wen-jia (
When leaving the presidential office, Cho told reporters "I always keep alert and often sleep in office because Chen or Vice President Lu could need me any time."
Cho also told reporters "I would like to be an MP3 player as Cabinet spokesman," meaning that the government, like music, should communicate with the public in a soft and enjoyable tone, rather than a harsh one.
Unlike most countries, Taiwan cannot use its country’s own name to compete in the Olympic Games or other major international sports events. Instead, it participates under the name “Chinese Taipei,” a name that causes confusion and sparks curiosity among many people, including an American director who explored the topic in his new documentary. Garret Clarke, the director of the 20-minute documentary What’s in a Name? A Chinese Taipei Story, said in an recent media interview said that he was motivated to make the documentary because he finds the name “Chinese Taipei” to be “weird.” The dispute that eventually created the name dates back
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to