MA GOVERNMENT TAKES SHAPE: FIRST TRANCHE OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 000552

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR TW
SUBJECT: MA GOVERNMENT TAKES SHAPE: FIRST TRANCHE OF
CABINET AND PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS

REF: TAIPEI 508


1. (SBU) Premier-designate Liu Chao-hsuan (reftel) today,
April 21, announced the first tranche of seventeen
appointments to his new cabinet, which will take office on
May 20 following the swearing-in of President-elect Ma
Ying-jeou and Vice President-elect Vincent Siew. Ma
personally announced his appointments for Presidential Office
Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General on April 18,

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following his April 14 announcement of the appointment of
P.K. Chiang to head the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF).
Para 2 provides information on the Presidential Office
appointments and para 3 provides information on the first
tranche of cabinet appointments. (Note: We will follow up
with more detailed cables and analysis on some of the key
figures, as well as the overall composition of the cabinet.
End note.)

Presidential Office
--------------


2. (SBU) New Presidential Office Appointments:

-- Secretary General Chan Chun-po will head the presidential
office after serving as Ma's presidential campaign director
and chief of Ma's presidential transition team. Chan also
directed Ma's successful 1998 and 2002 Taipei mayoral
campaigns. Chan will likely remain a Vice Chairman on the
KMT Central Standing Committee, a position which he has held
since January 2007. Chan, 67 years old, was born in Changhua
County. He received his master's degree in political science
from Harvard in 1970, and was an IV grantee in 1987. Chan is
married and his two sons both graduated from American
universities. He has a fairly good command (S-4) of English.

-- Deputy Secretary General Yeh Chin-chuan served as Taipei
City Director of Public Health under Ma (1998-2000) and,
after outstanding service during the SARS outbreak of 2003,
returned to serve as Ma's deputy mayor (2004-2006). Yeh quit
the deputy mayorship in an unsuccessful attempt to seek the
KMT nomination in the 2006 Taipei mayoral race. He told the
press on Saturday that he had declined Ma's original offer to
head the Department of Health because he did not enjoy being
in the limelight. Yeh, 58, is a high school classmate of
Ma's. He has an M.D. from National Taiwan University and
studied for his doctorate in public health at Harvard. He
speaks English at the S-3 level.

-- On April 14, Ma confirmed that he will appoint KMT Vice
Chairman P.K. Chiang (Pin-kung) Chairman of the Straits
Exchange Foundation (SEF). Ma indicated that Chiang's
extensive contacts with Chinese officials and Taiwan
businesspeople in China made him the ideal candidate for the
post. Chiang served two terms as legislator (2001-2008),was
Chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development
(1995-2000),and Economics Minister (1993-1995). Chiang,
born in Nantou County in 1932, is 76 years old. He is
married with three children, and speaks English and Japanese
fluently (S-4 level).

The Cabinet
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3. (SBU) Cabinet Appointments:

-- Vice Premier Paul Chiu (Cheng-hsiung) was former chairman
of En Tie Commercial Bank (2003-2006) and Chairman of KMT
Grand Cathay Securities (2000-2003). He also served as
Finance Minister under President Lee Teng-hui (1996-2000).
Chiu, a Fulbright alumnus and current member of theFulbright
board in Taiwan, received his masters and doctorate in
economics from Ohio State University (1971-1978). He is 66
years old, born in Hualien County. Chiu is married, has two
sons, and speaks English fluently.

-- EY Secretary General Steve Hsieh (Hsiang-chuan) is the
former head of the economics and technology division of the
KMT-sponsored thinktank, the National Policy Foundation.
During the presidential campaign, Hsieh was an outspoken
advocate of Ma's plans for economic recovery, especially the
12 proposed large-scale public investment projects. He

TAIPEI 00000552 002 OF 003


earned an M.S. and Ph.D in Biochemistry from the University
of Wisconsin and speaks English fluently (S-4 level).

-- Foreign Minister Francisco Ou (Hung-lien) was Taiwan's
ambassador to Guatemala (1990-1996, 2002-2008),Nicaragua
(1984-1986),and Taiwan's representative to Argentina
(1986-1990) and Spain (1992-2002). He also served as Vice
Foreign Minister for Administration (1996-1999). Ou, an
ethnic Hakka, was born in 1940 in Hualien County. Ou is
married and speaks English fluently (S-4 level).

-- Minister without Portfolio Tsai Hsun-hsiung, currently the
president of the National Policy Foundation (2000-2008),was
Director General of the Environmental Protection
Administration (1996-2000) and Vice Chairman of the Council
for Economic Planning and Development (1992-1996). He
received his masters in urban planning from MIT and his
doctorate from Princeton University. He is married and
speaks English fluently.

-- Minister without Portfolio Chu Yun-peng, currently a
research fellow at the Sun Yat-sen Institute for Social
Sciences (1996-2008) and a professor at National Central
University (1999-2008),served on the Executive Yuan Fair
Trade Commission (1992-1996). He received his doctorate in
economics from the University of Maryland (1979-1982).

-- Economics Minister Yin Chi-ming, currently a professor of
economics at Chung Hua University (2005-2008),was Economics
Vice Minister (1997-2005) and Director General of the
Industrial Development Bureau (1994-1997). Yin was born in
Tainan County in 1952. He is married with one daughter. He
speaks English at the S-3 level.

-- Interior Minister Liao Feng-te is currently KMT Vice
Secretary General (2007-2008) and Chairman of the KMT

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Organizational and Development Committee (2004-2008). As
Chairman of the Organizational and Development Committee,
Liao orchestrated the KMT's 2007-2008 legislative campaign,
which yielded a KMT three-fourths majority in the LY. Liao
has been active in KMT politics since the early 1990's. He
was born in Ilan County in 1951.

-- Agriculture Council Chairperson Chen Wu-hsiung, currently
a research fellow at the economics and technology division of
the National Policy Foundation (2002-2008). Chen was
Agriculture Council Vice Chairman (1999-2001),Deputy
Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry
for the Taiwan Provincial Government (1996),and held various
planning and programming positions at the Council of
Agriculture (1984-1996). He received his masters and
doctorate from the University of Illinois (1970-1980). He
was born in Taiwan in 1944, is married with two children, and
speaks English fluently.

-- Economic Planning and Development Council Chairperson Chen
Tien-chih, currently professor of economics at National
Taiwan University (2003-2008),has served as consultant, vice
president, and president of the Chunghua Institution for
Economic Research (CIER) (1995-2005). He received his
doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Chen is 55 years old, is married, and speaks English fluently.

-- Transportation and Communications Minister Mao Chi-kuo is
currently a chair professor at the Institute of Business and
Management, National Chiaotung University (2003-2008). Mao
served as Administrative Vice Minister at the Transportation
and Communications Ministry (1994-2000) and as Director of
the High Speed Railway Preparatory Office (1991-1993). He
received his doctorate from MIT in 1982. He is married and
speaks English fluently.

-- Justice Minister Wang Ching-feng is a prominent attorney
and human rights advocate (1996-2008). Wang was a member of
the LY committee which investigated the March 19, 2004
shooting of President Chen and Vice President Liu
(2004-2005). She is also the founder and chairperson of the
Taiwan Women's Rescue Foundation (1999-2008),and a former
member of the Control Yuan (1993-1996). Wang is not
affiliated with any political party. She is 56 years old,
married with one child, and speaks English.

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-- Director General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Shih
Su-mei, currently the Director of the Taipei City Government
Office of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics (2006-2008),is
56 years old, married, and speaks English.

-- Department of Health Minister Lin Fang-yue is currently
Director of National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH)
(2004-2008). Lin also served as NTUH Deputy Director
(1999-2004),and headed its cardiovascular surgery and
emergency medicine departments (1996-2000). He is married
and speaks English.

-- Environmental Protection Agency Director-General Shen
Shih-hung is currently Director of the Taipei City Government
Environmental Protection Bureau (2006-2008). Shen has been
active in environmental protection for over twenty years. He
is 59 years old, married, and speaks English.

-- Council of Labor Affairs Chairperson Wang Ju-hsuan is an
attorney and human rights advocate (1990-2008). She is also
the Chairperson of the Taipei Bar Association ad hoc
committee on women's rights (2002-2008). She is 47 years
old, married, and speaks English.

-- Aboriginal Affairs Commission Chairperson Chang Jen-hsiang
is currently KMT Vice Chairperson (2006-2008) and previously
served four terms in the LY (1995-2007). She is 55 years
old, married, and speaks English.

-- Youth Affairs Council Chairperson Wang Yu-ting served two
terms in the LY (1998-2008). She is 35 years old, unmarried,
and speaks English.
YOUNG