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MOEA, NDC and other new ministers announced
Premier-designate Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) announced tech company leader JW Kuo (郭智輝) and veteran business consultant Paul Liu (劉鏡清) as the new heads of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and National Development Council (NDC), respectively.
He also named insurance professor Peng Jin-lung (彭金隆) as head of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), academic Huang Yen-nun (黃彥男) as digital affairs minister, and scholar Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) as head of the National Science and Technology Council.
The other appointee was former lawmaker Chen Chin-te (陳金德), who will take charge of the Public Construction Commission (PCC) in the new cabinet slated to take office on 20 May when President-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德) is sworn into office.
Liu's career has mainly been in the private sector. He once served as the chairman of PwC Taiwan, an international consulting firm for start-ups and for helping businesses' digital transformation, as well as the general manager of IBM Global Business Services. Local media said Liu's appointment is a bright spot in the new cabinet.
Incoming MOEA minister Kuo also hails from the private business, TOPCO Group, which includes a semiconductor material supplier and a biotech company. Huang, the upcoming Minister to replace Audrey Tang, comes from Academia Sinica's Research Center for Information Technology Innovation. Cho says he expects Huang to stand at the forefront of the war against digital fraud, and lead the development of Taiwan's digital infrastructure.
According to the ruling DPP, none of today's appointees has been involved in political activities or operations. The MND minister added that the figures being reported by the local media are based on an "unfair" calculation method.
Meanwhile, President Tsai Ing-wen has named the incoming Lai administration's new picks for foreign minister and National Security Council secretary-general. Presidential Office Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung replaces Joseph Wu as Foreign Minister, while Wu takes up the post of NSC secretary-general. Tsai's move is a shift from the practice of having the incoming government make the announcements.
Lin previously served as Taichung mayor and ambassador-at-large in charge of the government's digital New Southbound Policy initiative. He took up the post of transport minister in January 2019 but resigned in April of 2021 following the deadly Taroko Express train crash, which left 49 people dead.
Joseph Wu has been Taiwan's longest serving foreign minister since the first direct presidential elections were held in 1996. His appointment as NSC secretary-general sees him returning to a post he previously held from May 2016 to May 2017. Wu also became secretary-general to the President in May 2017 and served in that role until February 2018, when he was appointed foreign minister.
In other cabinet news, Ministry of Environment (MOENV) Minister Shieu Fuh-sheng says he will step down after President-elect Lai Ching-te's inauguration on 20 May. Shieu made the comment on the heels of speculation that he would remain in his post under the new Lai administration. Premier-designate Cho has yet to appoint a new MOENV minister.
Shieu oversaw the Environmental Protection Administration's upgrade to ministerial status in August of last year. The outgoing minister has pointed out that he will be turning 65 next January and plans to return to National Chung Hsing University. He also plans to postpone his retirement, so that he can continue teaching and doing research. Shieu also said that whoever serves as his successor will have to focus heavily on the new carbon fee programme and reducing plastic use.
