The office of president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) announced yesterday that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) will be the new secretary-general of the National Security Council (NSC).
The appointment of Su, a long-time friend and top aide to Ma, had been expected and was among a list of names released by the Ma camp.
Other names on the list included National Taiwan University politics professor Kao Lang (高朗), who will become Presidential Office deputy secretary-general, while the deputy secretary-general posts at the NSC will be filled by director of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Overseas Department Ho Szu-yin (何思因) and former deputy defense minister Lee Hai-tung (李海東).
Kao Charng (高長), a director at the Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research (中經院); Chung Chien (鍾堅), a professor at Tsing Hua University; Chen Teh-sheng (陳德昇), a researcher at the Institute for International Relations at National Chengchi University; Tsai Horng-ming (蔡宏明), executive secretary of the Chinese National Federation of Industries; Philip Yang (楊永明), an associate professor of political science at National Taiwan University and Chan Man-jung (詹滿容), an associate professor at Tamkang University, will become advisers to the NSC.
Lin Man-houng (林滿紅), a senior research fellow in the Institute of Modern History at Academia Sinica, will become president of Academia Historica.
Earlier yesterday, Ma held a meeting with premier-designate Liu Chao-hsiuan (劉兆玄) and top aides to discuss candidates for minister of the interior after minister-designate Liao Fung-te (廖風德) passed away on Saturday.
Prospective candidates to replace Liao include designated vice-minister Liao Liao-yi (廖了以) and former KMT vice secretary-general Wu Chin-lin (伍錦霖).
Ma’s spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) declined to confirm whether or not a new nominee was appointed at the meeting.
“I do not think it’s the right time to discuss this issue now,” Lo said yesterday in front of KMT headquarters.
Liao Fung-te died of heart and lung failure on Saturday after collapsing during a hike. He was 57. He served as director of the KMT’s organization and development committee and had helped the party win the recent elections before he was chosen to lead the Ministry of the Interior.
News of his death came as a shock for Ma and the KMT as they prepare for the transfer of power on May 20 and it sparked concern over the health of incoming Cabinet members.
Department of Health director-designate Lin Fang-yue (林芳郁), who is superintendent of National Taiwan University Hospital, suggested yesterday that all incoming Cabinet members receive physical exams and have a better understanding of their own health.
Lo said Ma would not rule out the possibility that Cabinet members would be required to have health checks and that the results could be made public.
Lo dismissed a United Daily News report that Liao Fung-te was diagnosed with cerebral thrombosis last month, but that the KMT had failed to inform Ma.
Meanwhile, Ma said on Saturday he would respond to Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) earlier call for China and Taiwan to build mutual trust during his inauguration speech on May 20.
Hu said during a meeting with former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) last month that both sides should “seek to build mutual trust, shelve disputes, seek common ground while reserving differences and create a ‘win-win’ situation.”
Ma had issued a statement expressing his appreciation for Hu’s message, saying it “served as an important guide to turning a new page in the development of cross-strait relations.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
RSS