TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) hosted a press conference at the Presidential Office Friday morning (Jan. 27), announcing a partial Cabinet reshuffle.
The biggest change was Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) stepping down after four years, making way for former Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to return to the Executive Yuan as premier.
Chen said he was initially hesitant to take up the duty when contacted by Tsai over the Lunar New Year holiday, noting that he was hoping to conclude his academic research and other personal business. But upon reflection, he was swayed by a sense of duty towards a democratic Taiwan.
Later in his address, Chen promised to accompany the Tsai administration along the “last mile” or the final nearly 500 days to complete four major tasks: Continued COVID pandemic measures, strengthening the social safety net, infrastructure, and promotion of core industries.
Tsai praised former Premier Su Tseng-chang for his unwavering support of her legislative priorities such as the same-sex marriage act and coordinating the government's response to the COVID pandemic. However, the DPP’s defeat in recent elections led Su to repeatedly offer his resignation in recent days.
Su has served more time as premier than any other in the democratic era, and previously served as premier under former President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). He is also head of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Su faction and will continue to be a power broker in the party heading into the 2024 national elections.
Under Taiwan’s amended constitution, the premier is the head of the Executive Yuan and the head of the executive branch of government, with the power to appoint Cabinet members. Therefore, the appointment of a new premier by the president typically coincides with a cabinet reshuffle.
With newly-appointed Premier Chen Chien-jen taking office, his second-in-command will be former Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who will become Vice Premier. Cheng was popular with former constituents in Taoyuan for the growth and prosperity he brought to the area.
He is equally admired within the DPP for his hard work and affability amongst many party factions. However, he was recently stripped of his master's degree from National Taiwan University in a plagiarism scandal.
Another important role in the Cabinet is the appointment of former Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) as Minister of the Interior. This was one of the earliest changes announced by the Presidential Office, made on Wednesday this week (Jan.25).
The new appointments of former mayors to important cabinet roles indicate that Chen Chien-jen is prioritizing executive experience in his approach to governance, appointing the two highly popular former administrators to lead important ministries. Lin Yu-chang had achieved an 80% approval rate for his governance of Keelung, and has been credited with reviving the economic fortunes of this important coastal city.
National security was also addressed in the Cabinet reshuffle with former National Security Bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong (陳明通), who was under pressure due to a tsunami of plagiarism scandals last year stemming from his oversight of the theses of former students. This included ex-Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅), who last year was forced to quit his bid to become Taoyuan mayor over plagiarism.
This led the former to tender his resignation. His vacant post was filled through the internal promotion of Deputy Foreign Minister Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥), who previously served as an advisor at both the Ministry of National Defense and the Mainland Affairs Council.
At the Office of the President, former Taichung Mayor and ex-Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has been appointed the new secretary-general to the president, a position that directly reports to Tsai. He replaces David Lee (李大維), who has stepped down to return to the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) as chairman.