Voice of America
25 Jan 2023, 22:35 GMT+10
TAIPEI - Former vice president Chen Chien-jen will be Taiwan's new premier, the presidential office said on Wednesday, as part of a cabinet reshuffle following heavy losses for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) at local elections last year.
Premier Su Tseng-chang submitted his resignation last week along with that of his cabinet ahead of the widely expected government reorganization.
Su's move followed the DPP's trouncing at local polls in November, and comes as Taiwan gears up for presidential and parliamentary elections in early 2024.
President Tsai Ing-wen is expected to hold a news conference on Friday morning to formally make the announcement, her office said in a short statement, but without giving details of which other positions would get new ministers.
Chen, 71, is a devout Catholic who served as vice president during Tsai's first term in office, from 2016-2020, and Taiwanese media had named him as the person most likely to be the new premier.
He will have to oversee several tricky issues, including navigating the export-oriented island's slowing economy and plans to extend military conscription to one year in the face of a rising military threat from China, though the DPP has a large majority in parliament meaning its proposals do get passed.
Taiwan Opposition Wins Control of Taipei in Setback for President Tsai
Chen only joined the DPP last year but took on a high profile position campaigning for the party ahead of November's local elections.
He also attended former Pope Benedict's funeral at the Vatican this month as Tsai's envoy, the Vatican being one of only 14 countries which still have diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
An epidemiologist by training, he was Taiwan's health minister during the 2003 SARS outbreak, credited with bringing the disease under control, and played an important role in shaping Taiwan's response to COVID-19.
Get a daily dose of Taiwan Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Taiwan Sun.
More InformationNEW YORK CITY, New York: Bloomberg News has reported that New Jersey-based Valley National Bancorp is bidding to purchase Silicon ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks lipped on Tuesday as bond yields rose in the aftermath of the easing ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has said it will build a $1bn medicine manufacturing site in Limerick. Lily ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US National Transportation Safety Board has said that after an automated cockpit warning that switched off a ...
BEIJING, California: As the world's second-largest economy is still struggling to fully recover from the long-term effects of COVID-19, most ...
NEW YORK, New York - Bank shares were being bought up on Monday as U.S. industrial stocks kicked the week ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said that lawmakers will move forward on legislation aimed at ...
CROWNPOINT, New Mexico: Navajo Technical University, located on the largest Native American reservation in the US, has become the first ...
WEST READING, Pennsylvania: An explosion occurred at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania, killing seven people and seeing ten staff members ...
OTTAWA, Canada: US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced a plan to close a loophole ...
UVLADE, Texas: Texas police stopped a Florida-bound freight train this week and discovered two migrants had died in a freight ...
ROLLING FORK, Mississippi: A powerful tornado has struck Mississippi, killing at least 25 people, injuring dozens, flattening entire blocks and ...