Changes in Taiwan Cabinet: Chang Tun-han Appointed Executive Yuan Secretary-General, Kung Ming-hsin Becomes Minister of Economic Affairs

After the failed mass recall, the Taiwan Executive Yuan initiated a cabinet reshuffle. On the 27th, Executive Yuan spokesperson Li Huizhi announced that the position of Executive Yuan Secretary-General will be taken over by the current Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Office, Chang Tun-han; the current Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin will take over as Minister of Economic Affairs; the current Director-General of the National Health Insurance Administration, Shih Chung-liang, will be promoted to Minister of Health and Welfare; Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, Lin Yi-ching, will be promoted to Minister; and the new Chairperson of the National Development Council will be Yeh Chun-hsien, a former director of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research and currently a researcher at Academia Sinica's Institute of Economics.

According to TVBS News Network, Li Huizhi stated that since August 24, Executive Yuan Premier Cho Jung-tai has, following President Lai Ching-te’s instructions, launched a large-scale adjustment of the administrative team lineup, including the Executive Yuan, National Development Council, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Digital Affairs, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Education, Council of Indigenous Peoples, and the Overseas Community Affairs Council, with a total of 16 cabinet members being adjusted.

Li Huizhi pointed out that Chang Tun-han has comprehensive experience in both local and central government administration and political affairs, is well versed in government policies, and in the future will make full use of his communication skills to coordinate matters; Kung Ming-hsin, who once served as Chairperson of the National Development Council and Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, will now take the helm of Taiwan’s overall economic strategy and lay the foundation for the next stage of industrial, trade, and economic infrastructure.

In addition, current Deputy Chairperson of the Overseas Community Affairs Council, Juan Chao-hsiung, will become Deputy Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan, continuing to maintain open channels of communication with all parties in the Legislative Yuan; his current position will be filled by former Hsinchu City Councilor Lee Yen-hui.

Li Huizhi also introduced that the Ministry of Sports will be established on September 9, and it is planned that Lee Yang, gold medalist in men's badminton doubles at both the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games, will become Sports Minister. Current Sports Administration Director-General Cheng Shih-chung and Taiwan Sports Science Center Executive Director Huang Chi-huang will become Political Deputy Ministers, while current Deputy Director-General of the Sports Administration, Hung Chih-chang, will become Administrative Deputy Minister.

Going forward, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will be headed by current Director-General of the National Health Insurance Administration, Shih Chung-liang, with current Director-General of the Centers for Disease Control, Chuang Jen-hsiang, to serve as Administrative Deputy Minister.

Li Huizhi indicated that Yeh Chun-hsien, who will take over as Chairperson of the National Development Council, has long provided advice to the government and is very familiar with Taiwan’s industrial policy. It is hoped that he will continue to leverage his expertise and communication skills to help the government outline policy blueprints in the future.

Li Huizhi also said that the Ministry of Digital Affairs will be headed by current Deputy Minister Lin Yi-ching, whose position will be filled by current Secretary-General of the Taiwan AI School Foundation, lawyer Hou Yi-shiou. It is hoped that the professionalism of the two will help plan future topics in innovative technology, open data, open government, and the legal norms related to digital governance.

In addition, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment will be Chen Yan-ru, current head of the Chemical Substance Administration; the Political Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education will be Liu Kuo-wei, a chair professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Ming Chuan University; the Deputy Chairperson of the Council of Indigenous Peoples will be taken by former baseball player Chen Yi-hsin.

Li Huizhi concluded that Cho Jung-tai will, after the Executive Yuan meeting on the 28th, lead the new cabinet lineup to report to the people of Taiwan on the "AI Action Cabinet 2.0" formation.

After two rounds of DPP mass recall votes concluded, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te formally announced the launch of the cabinet reshuffle. Previously, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua, Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang, and Political Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng had successively resigned, and Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan was named as unfit for the post. National Development Council Chairperson Kung Ching-ching also resigned on Tuesday.