The foreign affairs, national defense and Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) ministers are to remain in their posts under the new Cabinet, incoming premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) wrote on Facebook yesterday.
The Central News Agency (CNA) quoted Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is the new Cabinet spokesperson, as saying that the appointments were made after a discussion between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Chen Chien-jen.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) and MAC Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) are expected to continue to carry out defense, foreign affairs and cross-strait policies, Chen Tsung-yen said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The CNA report quoted an anonymous source as saying that Chiu Kuo-cheng is to stay in his post to facilitate the extension of mandatory military service this year, while Wu and Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) are to remain “to continue practical diplomacy.”
The CNA report said that former Taipei City councilor Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) would be the new MAC deputy minister, and quoted an anonymous source as saying that the appointment would help foster new talent in cross-strait affairs.
Straits Exchange Foundation Vice Chairman and Secretary-General Jan Jyh-horng (詹志宏) and MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) are to switch positions, while MAC Deputy Minister Wu Mei-hung (吳美紅) would become Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) Deputy Minister and OAC Deputy Minister and Coast Guard Administration Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) would remain in his post, it said.
On Saturday, Chen Chien-jen on Facebook named former Keelung mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) as minister of the interior, Deputy Minister of Culture Hsiao Tsung-huang (蕭宗煌) as director of the National Palace Museum, and Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Shih Che (史哲) as the minister of culture.
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠), Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥), Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材), Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元), Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) and Environmental Protection Administration Minister Chang Tzi-chin (張子敬) would all remain in their posts, Chen Chien-jen said.
He is also retaining Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Huang Tien-mu (黃天牧), Veterans Affairs Council Minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬), Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Icyang Parod and Hakka Affairs Council Minister Yiong Con-ziin (楊長鎮).
While former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) is rumored to become the new deputy minister of labor, former Taoyuan mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is to become vice premier, was quoted by CNA yesterday as saying that the full Cabinet list would be completed today, with the names of new deputy ministers to be announced this afternoon.
Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) Cabinet is to officially resign today, clearing the way for the new Cabinet to be sworn in during a handover ceremony tomorrow.
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