New prime minister appointed after cabinet quits
The new prime minister is already at work preparing the new list of ministers which should be ready “in the next few days”. Their task will be reconstruction, for which the government has already budgeted NT$ 120 billion (US$ 3.5 billion) for the next four years.
A number of ministers in the outgoing cabinet should keep their portfolios. Eric Chu Liluan, a judge in Taoyuan County, should become Mr Wu’s deputy. The entire cabinet is scheduled to resign on 10 September.
The government came in for stinging criticism following its slow and inadequate response to Typhoon Morakot, which devastated the southern part of the island from 6 to 9 August. A sea of mud swept entire villages, killing at least 758 people.
Some ministers and a number of top public servants tendered their resignation following the uproar.
As “top administrator, I must shoulder all of the political responsibility” for the inefficient response, Mr Liu (pictured) said, who apologised to President Ma and the country for not doing better.
Liu added that shortly after the typhoon in mid-August, he had submitted his resignation to Ma, which was immediately accepted. However, the president insisted he stay on to oversee reconstruction and relief work.
Now the new government can deal with the serious consequences of the typhoon without the burden of criticism.
Analysts do not expect the administration to change the country’s political orientation at a time of major economies woes—Taiwan’s economy contracted 7.5 percent in the second quarter of this year—especially since it is the president who sets policy objectives and the prime minister’s role is to execute them.
The changes at the top are likely however to improve the KMT’s and Mr Ma’s standing in the polls after the latter’s approval rating slipped to a record low of 16 per cent.
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06/10/2021 12:36
