Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday dismissed a newspaper report that said the only way for President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to show goodwill toward China would be to reshuffle the Cabinet.
The president does not need the opinion of other countries to make plans, Su added.
Citing an anonymous “key cross-strait policymaker” in the government, the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that the only way Tsai’s administration could extend its goodwill toward China would be through a Cabinet reshuffle.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Government via CNA
Beijing could reciprocate by lifting a ban on individual travelers to Taiwan, as well as allowing larger tour groups and more officials handling Taiwan affairs to visit the nation, the United Daily quoted the source as saying.
Tsai would likely accept the goodwill of Beijing, which controls the situation, the source was quoted as saying.
“Taiwan is a sovereign nation... At the start of her second term, President Tsai will have new plans and take new measures. Other countries should not poke their noses into this,” Su said in response to media queries about the report.
The Chinese-language China Times yesterday reported that Tsai would likely be re-elected as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson, while Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) would replace Chen Chu (陳菊), who plans to retire, as Presidential Office secretary-general.
Su Tseng-chang would stay on as premier, while former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) would be named legislative speaker and would share the duty of presiding over legislative proceedings with Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌), the report said.
DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) would likely become a Cabinet member, as he has extensive administrative experience and was instrumental in securing the DPP’s election victories on Saturday last week, it said.
Asked for his thoughts on Su Jia-chyuan becoming Presidential Office secretary-general, Su Tseng-chang said that Su Jia-chyuan is a very capable person, but that he would respect Tsai’s plans.
Asked about members of the DPP’s former New Tide faction having been left out of any reshuffle and whether the move was aimed at balancing power among the factions, Su Tseng-chang said the party would not give in to factionalism after winning the elections.
As a democratic party, rivalry within the party would inevitably spark competition between factions, but the DPP must prioritize the expectations of the people, who just gave Tsai another term, the premier said.
Tsai would certainly base her actions on public opinion and make any plans based on each government official’s expertise, he said.
The Presidential Office yesterday rejected the China Times’ report.
The office would respect the autonomy of the legislature and the caucuses in electing the legislative speaker, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said, adding that the report was baseless.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS