Fresh faces for Taiwan’s next cabinet but security left to old hands who know Beijing’s ‘bottom line’
- Profile of William Lai Ching-te’s ministerial team is expected to show Lai has no desire to alter cross-strait status quo: analysts
- Observers say new cabinet expected to put further weight on ties with the US as Lai, like Tsai Ing-wen, must rely on Washington to counter Beijing
The new cabinet – which will assume office after Lai is inaugurated next month – features old faces familiar with the policy of outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen in handling the complex relationships with Beijing and Washington, they said.
Lai, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, was elected president in January. He will succeed Tsai, also of the DPP, who is to end her second four-year term on May 20.
On April 10, Lai named his confidant, Cho Jung-tai, former DPP chairman and ex-cabinet secretary general, as premier.
Under the island’s political system, the president selects the premier, who then appoints cabinet members with final approval from the president. The cabinet then executes the president’s policies and proposes legislation.
Other appointments include interior minister Liu Shih-fang, justice minister Cheng Ming-chien, transport minister Li Meng-yen, culture minister Li Yuan, and education minister Cheng Ying-yao.
