This Friday, that is, April 12, Lai Ching-te, the new leader of the Taiwan region, will officially announce the list of "cabinet" personnel.
The "cabinet" is designated as Zhuo Rongtai, former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party, and the deputy "cabinet" is Zheng Lijun, former minister of culture. According to the media, Lai Qingde originally preferred a number of candidates for the cabinet, in order: Chen Jianren, President of the Executive Yuan, Gu Lixiong, Secretary-General of the Taiwan Security Council, Tong Zixian, Chairman of Shuo Technology, Zheng Lijun, former Minister of Culture, Pan Mengan, former Pingtung County Magistrate, and Zhuo Rongtai, former Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan, etc., unexpectedly, Chen Jianren, Gu Lixiong, Tong Zixian, Pan Mengan, etc. were unwilling to take over the baton and politely refused, and in the end only Zhuo Rongtai and Zheng Lijun were willing to cooperate.
Other government and yuan personnel have also been roughly decided, including Gong Mingxin, the current chairman of the "National Development Council," as secretary general of the Executive Yuan; Chen Shikai is scheduled to serve as spokesman for the Executive Yuan; Gu Lixiong will take over as "minister of national defense"; Wu Zhaoxie, the current "foreign minister," Wu Zhaoxie, the secretary general of the "National Security Council," will remain in office; Cai Mingyan, "director of the National Security Bureau," will remain in office; Pan Meng'an has a very good personal relationship with Lai Qingde, and after resigning from his important post, it is estimated that he will become secretary general of the office to help Lai Qingde coordinate affairs of all sizes; and Lin Youchang, secretary general of the Democratic Progressive Party, will take over as secretary general of the Ministry of the Interior.
Let's take a look at the resumes of Zhuo Rongtai and Zheng Lijun.
Zhuo Rongtai, male, from Taipei, Taiwan, born in January 1959, graduated from Taipei University with a university degree. He has served as Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party, Secretary-General of the Democratic Progressive Party, Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan and Director of the Joint Service Center, Political Councilor and Spokesperson of the Executive Yuan, Deputy Secretary-General of the General Office, Legislator, and Taipei City Councilor. Zhuo Rongtai's image has always been gentle and elegant, with high emotional intelligence, and he is a witty and funny political figure. Although his popularity is not as high as that of other Mesozoic generations, he is one level higher than other Mesozoic generations in the party, so he is called "the senior brother of the Mesozoic Era".
Zheng Lijun, female, from Taipei, Taiwan, born in June 1969, graduated from National Taiwan University with a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Paris X.
In this wave of lists, the biggest highlight is Gu Lixiong. Gu Lixiong, who was born as a civilian, became the "Minister of National Defense," breaking the traditional practice in Taiwan of rotating generals from various branches of the armed forces. Recently, there has been restlessness in Taiwan's military, and every branch of the military has been speculating about whether its own people may be promoted, and there have even been many cases of wrestling with each branch.
As a matter of fact, Lai Qingde has already decided that Gu Lixiong will be appointed to the post of "defense minister" because under the special situation in the United States, China, and Taiwan, Lai Qingde hopes to use a person who can carry out his will. During his tenure as secretary general of the "National Security Council," Gu Lixiong often regularly discussed Taiwan's security issues with Lai Qingde, and Gu Lixiong's logic was clear and he could quickly grasp the situation, which also made Lai Qingde believe that he could assume this position.
Since Tsai Ing-wen came to power, there have been rumors in the public that the "Ministry of National Defense" wants to appoint a "civilian minister," but in the end it has not been put into action, and the main reason is: Can the civilian minister be able to suppress the various branches of the military? This is a question! After all, "mercy does not control the army, and righteousness does not control the wealth."
Let's take a look at Gu Lixiong's resume.
Gu Lixiong, male, from Keelung, Taiwan, born in October 1958, graduated from National Taiwan University with a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from New York University. He has been a lawyer for a long time, and in 2014 he ran for the post of mayor of Taipei, losing to Yao Wenzhi. After Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, he served as a non-district legislator, and in August of the same year, he took over as the chairman of the improper party property disposal committee. In September 2017, he took over as Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission. In May 2020, he was promoted to Secretary-General of the National Security Conference.
As the saying goes, "there are three fires when a new official takes office". After Lai Ching-te took office, he naturally wanted to show the people of Taiwan the new atmosphere of the new government, including the appointment of candidates. However, as soon as the "cabinet" list was revealed, it was ridiculed by the Kuomintang! Kuomintang legislator Hsu Yu-zhen said that when he saw the partial list of the cabinet team, he only had an eight-word comment: "There is nothing new in the list, and politics is in charge."
Hsu Yu-zhen said: "It is rumored that Zhuo Rongtai, former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party, will be the premier of the Executive Yuan, and he was the secretary general of the Executive Yuan during the period when Lai Ching-te was the premier, and now he is going to serve as the cabinet. ”
Hsu Yu-zhen stressed that no matter what cabinet it is, the challenges that the new government will face are very great, such as an aging population, a small number of children, low salaries for young people, high housing prices, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, uneven regional development, and a balance in the triangular relationship between the United States, China, and Taiwan.
It should be noted that Wu Zhaoxie and Gu Lixiong have already been listed by the state as a diehard Taiwan independence list. Lai Qingde appointed him, except for the same smell, that is, the two of them were able to implement his will and would not be hindered by it. Tsai Ing-wen is certainly disobedient, but after all, she is a woman of the female stream, and she is less courageous and does not take too out-of-the-ordinary measures; Lai Qingde is different, he has always pursued a "pragmatic Taiwan independence line," and before he was elected leader of the Taiwan region, he made many astonishing remarks, and I am afraid that there will be many radical measures after he officially takes office on 20 May. According to the editor, Lai Qingde may first open up Taiwan's diplomatic situation and obtain support from many parties, as can be seen from his dispatch of Xiao Meiqin to the United States and Europe, because since 2018, eight countries and regions have severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, Lai Qingde did not dare to really engage in Taiwan independence, because that was the bottom line that China had drawn for Taiwan, and the United States would not allow Lai Qingde to do so, and what the United States wanted was to maintain the status quo in order to conform to its interests.