Incumbent Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (???) and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (???) will continue serving in Premier-designate Chen Chien-jen's (???) new Cabinet, Chen said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Chiu Tai-san (???), minister of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the top government agency handling cross-strait affairs, will also remain in the new Cabinet, according to the post.
The decision to keep the three officials in their current posts, as the Cabinet is reshuffled after Premier Su Tseng-chang (???) submitted his resignation last week, was made following a meeting between Chen and President Tsai Ing-wen (???).
The president is in charge of issues pertaining to the country's national defense, foreign affairs, and cross-strait relations, according to the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan's de-jure name.
The post added that remaining appointments, including those of deputy ministerial posts, will be announced on Monday.
According to Chen Tsung-yen (???), who has been designated the new Cabinet spokesperson, while the MAC minister is unchanged, Chiu's deputies will leave their positions.
Chen told local media on Sunday that Chan Chih-hung (???), vice chairman and secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), will become a deputy MAC minister, replacing incumbent Chiu Chui-cheng (???), who will continue serving as SEF vice chairman while simultaneously taking up the secretary-general post left vacant by Chan.
Former Taipei City Councilor Liang Wen-chieh (???) has also been tapped as another deputy MAC minister, to replace incumbent Wu Mei-hung (???), who will be appointed deputy minister of the Ocean Affairs Council (OAC), the spokesman said.
He added that another OAC deputy minister Chou Mei-wu (???), who concurrently serves as head of the Coast Guard Administration, will remain in his current positions.
Chen Chien-jen, the former vice president during Tsai's first term from 2016-2020, was officially named Su's successor on Friday.
Over the past few days, the premier-designate has unveiled 39 appointments to his new Cabinet via social media, the majority of whom also served in his predecessor's Cabinet in the same positions.
The new Cabinet is expected to be sworn into office on Tuesday, a day after Su leads his Cabinet officials to resign en masse, according to the senior officials.
Speaking with local media earlier on Sunday, Eric Chu (???), chairman of the main opposition Kuomintang, said Chen's Cabinet seemed to be playing a "caretaker" and "transitional" role, without elaborating.
There are few highlights in the Cabinet reshuffle, Chu commented, while calling on the new Cabinet to work harder.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel