VZCZCXRO2705
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHIN #0657/01 1340853
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130853Z MAY 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8906
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 8257
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 9584
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 9902
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU PRIORITY 2668
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU PRIORITY 1237
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG PRIORITY 9500
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI PRIORITY 2052
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG PRIORITY 6635
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000657 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV TW
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT MA YING-JEOU'S NEW CABINET:  DEMOGRAPHICS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  This cable describes the demographic 
profile of President-elect Ma Ying-jeou's cabinet (not 
including the National Security Council and Presidential 
Office appointments), with particular attention to the age, 
gender, birthplace, education, government experience, 
political connections, and U.S. connections of the thirty-six 
people who comprise Ma's corps of senior policymakers. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The average age of the cabinet members is 57; one 
quarter of the new cabinet posts are held by women. 
Twenty-four members of what has been called the "Ph.D. 
Cabinet" hold doctoral degrees, and six more hold masters 
degrees.  Most come from academia or served in earlier KMT 
governments:  eighteen are academics (of whom six are 
currently serving as university presidents), six served with 
Ma under President Lee Teng-hui, and four worked for him when 
he was Taipei Mayor.  In a departure from previous KMT 
administrations, "mainlanders" born outside Taiwan make up 
less than a third of the cabinet, and "Taiwanese" are in 
charge of cross-Strait relations.  This is perhaps the most 
"American" cabinet in Taiwan's history, with thirteen of its 
members educated in the U.S.  Ma and Premier-designate Liu 
Chao-hsuan selected "seasoned professionals" to ensure 
competency and stability at the beginning of the new 
administration.  End Summary. 
 
Age and Gender 
-------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Most of the new cabinet members are in their 
mid-fifties to early sixties, with 67 year-old Defense 
Minister Chen Chao-min being the oldest, and 35 year-old 
National Youth Commission Chairperson Wang Li-ting the 
youngest.  The average age is 57, which has prompted some 
Taiwan media commentators to argue the cabinet is "too old" 
to come up with new ideas.  Taoyuan Magistrate and Ma 
confidant Eric Chu (Li-lun) told the Director last month that 
Ma and Premier-designate Liu would choose "seasoned 
professionals" to staff important cabinet posts in order to 
ensure competence and stability at the outset of the new 
administration.  Ten of the 36 newly-filled positions are 
held by women, fulfilling Ma's pledge that women would occupy 
at least a quarter of the seats in the new cabinet. 
 
Education 
--------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Twenty-four members of the new cabinet hold doctoral 
and six masters degrees.  Of the remaining six, four hold 
bachelors degrees and two graduated from military academies. 
Six are currently university presidents, and twelve more are 
attached to universities or research organizations.  Taiwan 
pundits have dubbed this the "ivory tower" cabinet and the 
"Ph.D. cabinet," questioning whether academics, even such 
prominent ones, could have the practical experience or 
government expertise necessary to deal effectively with 
Taiwan's real-world problems.  KMT sources close to Ma 
earlier told AIT that Ma would include a high number of 
academics in his administration because he viewed them as 
less susceptible to corruption than long-time party officials. 
 
"Mainlanders" vs. "Taiwanese" 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Twenty-five members of the new cabinet, a strong 
majority, are "ethnic Taiwanese" born in Taiwan. 
Particularly sensitive to public fears that his 
administration might "sell out" Taiwan to China, Ma placed 
"Taiwanese" in charge of the entities responsible for dealing 
with the PRC )- the Straits Exchange Foundation (KMT Vice 
Chairman P.K. Chiang) and the Mainland Affairs Council 
(former TSU legislator Lai Hsin-yuan).  Only nine members of 
the new cabinet are "mainlanders" born in China, and all of 
them, including Premier-designate Liu Chao-hsuan, Finance 
Minister Lee Shu-te, and Transportation and Communications 
Minister Mao Chih-kuo, have been assigned domestic 
policy-related duties mostly unrelated to cross-Strait 
affairs. 
 
Government Experience and Political Connections 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
TAIPEI 00000657  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Ma and Siew served together under President Lee 
Teng-hui -- Ma as Justice Minister and Siew as Minister of 
Economic Affairs.  This may explain in part why six members 
of the new cabinet were also former members of the Lee 
administration, including Vice Premier-designate Paul Chiu 
(Cheng-hsiung), Foreign Minister-designate Francisco Ou 
(Hung-lien), and Minister-designate of Economic Affairs Yin 
Chi-ming.  Ma also drew heavily from KMT party ranks: five 
cabinet members are full-time party officials, while another 
is currently President of the KMT-sponsored National Policy 
Foundation thinktank.  Former members of Ma's Taipei City 
government also figure prominently in the new cabinet:  the 
incoming Finance Minister, the Director General of Budget, 
Accounting and Statistics, the Environmental Protection 
Agency Director, and one Minister without Portfolio all 
served Ma during his tenure as Taipei Mayor. 
 
U.S. Connections 
---------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Thirteen members of the new cabinet received 
undergraduate or graduate degrees from U.S. universities. 
The Presidential Office Secretary-General and Deputy 
Secretary-General and two of the Deputy Secretaries-General 
of the National Security Council were also U.S.-educated. 
Almost all of Ma's cabinet speak some English, and sixteen of 
them speak it fluently. 
YOUNG