Deputy Foreign Minister Tsai Ming-yen (Cai Mingyan) delivers a speech in the European Values ​​Taiwan-Czechia-Ukraine Forum hosted by the Prague-headquartered think tank EVC, in Taipei on Oct. 28 ,2022.Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Liberty Times

'THE MAN FOR THE JOB': A report said Cheng Wen-tsan would be the deputy of Chen Chien-jen, who was earlier confirmed to be Tsai Ing-wen's nominee for premier

/ Staff writer

President Tsai Ing-wen yesterday appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tsai Ming-yen as new National Security Bureau director-general and Lin Chia-lung as Presidential Office secretary-general, ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle.

Former Taoyuan mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (郑文畅) is to become vice premier, while former Keelung mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) is to become minister of the interior, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) reported , citing a preliminary list of Cabinet positions compiled by the Presidential Office on Wednesday, after Premier Su Tseng-chang (Su Zhenchang) announced the resignation of his Cabinet before the Lunar New Year holiday.

The report came a day after the government confirmed that former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陈建仁) was nominated by Tsai Ing-wen to be the new premier.

The new Cabinet would include more female ministers than the previous one, the Liberty Times reported.

The government has set three major principles on how Cabinet members would be selected after the president held meetings with Chen, Su and Vice President William Lai (Lai Qingde) on Wednesday, the report said.

Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陈宗彦), who served as deputy head of the Central Epidemic Command Center, is to become the new Executive Yuan spokesperson, it said.

Executive Yuan Secretary-General Lee Meng-yen and Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai are to keep their posts, the report said.

Chen Chien-jen reportedly told Tsai Ing-wen that apart from their respective expertise, he would be selecting his Cabinet members based on three guiding principles: raising the number of female Cabinet members, retaining more officials aged 44 to 64, as well as members with experience in local governments.

Cheng was chosen because he is familiar with local politics and has a track record of successfully coordinating between central and local governments, the report said, adding that his expertise would complement Chen Chien-jen's lack of experience in local politics.

The Presidential Office is to make a formal announcement on the new Cabinet today.

The current Cabinet is to resign on Monday, while the new members are to take office on Tuesday, it said.

Separately, local media yesterday reported that Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu would switch posts.

As of press time last night, the government had not commented on the report.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Rosalia Wu said Chen Chien-jen would face a “tough job full of challenges.”

“He and his Cabinet must provide leadership ahead of the upcoming presidential and legal elections. This is a huge job, but somebody must take up the burden,” she said. “Chen Chien-jen is the man for the job, and we all have great expectations for him to lead us into the elections.”

Additional reporting by CNA and Jason Pan

News source: TAIPEI TIMES

Former Taoyuan mayor Cheng Wen-tsan speaks at a news conference at the Democratic Progressive Party's headquarters in Taipei on Dec. 28 last year. Photo: Lo Pei-te, Taipei Times

Former Keelung mayor Lin Yu-chang speaks at a news conference in New Taipei City on Dec. 13 last year. Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times

Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim poses for a photograph at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington on Friday. Photo: AP