Taiwan retains most Cabinet members in reshuffle

[Annihilation]

Taiwan retains most Cabinet members in reshuffle

CNA
2014-12-06

A photo of the cabinet resignation led by Jiang Yi-huah, front row center, at the Executive Yuan in Taipei, Dec. 1. (Photo/China Times)

Taiwan assembled its new Cabinet on Friday, retaining almost all of the previous members in a reshuffle that followed the ruling party's defeat in the Nov. 29 local government elections.

The new Cabinet will be led by premier Mao Chih-Kuo, who was promoted to the position after Jiang Yi-huah resigned on the night of the election, leading to the en masse resignation of Jiang's Cabinet.

In the reshuffle, only two other Cabinet members besides Jiang will not return–Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai, who will be replaced temporarily by deputy Minister of Culture Hung Meng-chi, and Minister of the Coast Guard Administration Wang Ginn-wang, who has retired.

All the other members have been retained but many of the posts have been reshuffled.

Among them is the post of vice premier which will be filled by Minister of Science and Technology Simon Chang.

Chang's position, meanwhile, will be filled temporarily by deputy Minister of Science and Technology Lin Yi-bing, who will serve in an acting capacity until a new minister is named.

In another significant move, Economics Minister Duh Tyzz-jiun will swap places with Deng Chen-chung, a minister without portfolio who serves concurrently as governor of Fujian province.

In the Coast Guard Administration, deputy minister Wang Chung-yi will move up to the position of minister.

Yeh Shin-cheng, deputy minister of the Environmental Protection Administration, has been named a minister without portfolio.