VZCZCXRO3221
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHIN #0552/01 1121102
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 211102Z APR 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8733
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8185
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 9536
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 9853
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2628
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 1189
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 9423
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 2006
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 6595
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 000552 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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, 
 
SIPDIS 
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 
----------- 
 
¶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 
 
SIPDIS 
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. 
 
TAIPEI 00000552  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
-- 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