TAIPEI, Jan 31 — Former vice president Chen Chien-jen was sworn in as Taiwan’s new Prime Minister on Tuesday, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
He will lead a newly formed Cabinet as the country’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party looks to regain ground following a setback in local elections in November.
Former prime minister Su Tseng-chang on Monday led his Cabinet members to resign in a major reshuffle triggered by the DPP’s poor showing in the election.
Chen, 71, was appointed by President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday to replace Su, 75, who had served as premier since January 2019.
Chen said the priority for his new Cabinet was to adjust Covid restrictions in order to bring life back to normal and come up with policies to support people and businesses struggling with the economic consequences of the pandemic.
In addition, Chen said, more action will be taken to advance Taiwan’s resilience and competitiveness, such as enhancing infrastructure and improving social welfare programmes.
In the reshuffle, top ministers in charge of foreign affairs, defence and cross-strait policies remain the same however.
The ruling DPP had said on Monday that the new Cabinet will further develop Taiwan based on the foundation laid by the previous one.
Chen, a Catholic and member of the Vatican Pontifical Academy of Sciences, served as vice president during Tsai’s first term in office from 2016-2020.
After completing his four-year term as vice president, Chen returned to his research career at Academia Sinica’s Genomics Research Centre. From 2011 to 2015, he served as vice president of the national academy.
Taiwan’s next presidential election is set to be held in early 2024.
