The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said it has very low expectations for the new Cabinet, as it is not significantly different from the previous Cabinet, and “exists to serve only the will of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).”
“The Cabinet reshuffle is plain and insignificant, and I am sure many people feel the same way,” KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said on the sidelines of the party’s Lunar New Year festive gathering.
“We are facing many challenges in the post-pandemic era, but the officials who have been put in charge of national security, internal politics, and financial and economic affairs are uninspiring,” he said.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
“Instead of guiding the nation in a specific direction of governing, these officials were appointed based on their loyalty to factions of the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP],” Chu said. “We should not have high expectations for the DPP, as they tend to put the party’s will above the people’s interests.”
Chu criticized incoming premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) for accepting administrative leave from his position at Academia Sinica rather than resigning after he accepted Tsai’s appointment.
“It seems that a Cabinet led by Chen would be served by someone who sees himself as a caretaker until the KMT wins the next election,” Chu said.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
Former KMT chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said the lack of difference between the new and previous Cabinet shows that Tsai has a limited number of people to choose from, and that the DPP has not learned from November’s election losses.
“The DPP lost most of the local elections because it did not listen to the people, yet the new Cabinet was formed to serve Tsai, not to serve the people,” he added.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT said people should give the new Cabinet some time before judging how it performs.
“It is not meaningful to quibble on procedures at Academia Sinica,” DPP legislative caucus director Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said yesterday in response to the criticisms.
“The opposition is making a fuss over Chen’s leave of absence from research work on a suspended salary during his service,” Cheng said.
The opposition always takes biased stances to criticize DPP members accepting government posts, which is not fair, he said.
“Taiwanese have objective views on Chen’s standing in academia, and on his decision to return to politics,” Cheng said.
“Chen has personal warmth. He is just like the ‘noble knight’ in the historical traditions of the Catholic Church,” he added.
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