Has Nobody Caught the Eye of Tsai Ying-wen? –In Search of Sec-Gen to President

  Has Nobody Caught the Eye of Tsai Ying-wen? –In Search of Sec-Gen to President

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)

April 6, 2017

 Translation of an Except

To date, the Office of the Secretary-General to the President has been left vacant for over 170 days. President Tsai has been in office just over 310 days, in other words, over half the time, she has had no Secretary-General, the post being left to the Deputy Secretary-General in an acting capacity.

A Secretary-General to the President takes command of all affairs inside the Presidential Palace, directing all subordinate officials, and in addition, being responsible for assisting the President and coordinating high-echelon government officials. He or she also represents the President to report on the budget proposal before the Legislative Yuan, so this position is of course very important. And Tsai Ying-wen, to the surprise of many, has left this position vacant for so long without being able to find a replacement; this is incredible. Is it because Tsai Ying-wen is so brilliant that she does not need others to assist her? Or among the capable in the whole nation, not even one has caught her eye?

Ironically, while the Office of the Secretary-General to the President has been vacant for half a year, since taking office, President Tsai, on the other hand, has one after another, established over a dozen new government agencies or committees. Among them, there are some extra-legal agencies, some ad hoc groups, creating for the new government nearly one hundred new official titles and new positions. Even the Examination Yuan and the Control Yuan, which the DPP has always detested, Tsai Ying-wen has quickly made nominations to fill the vacancies; however, it is intriguing that the Office of the Secretary-General has been left vacant.

President Tsai has proven that the Office of the Secretary-General to the President is not indispensable. Would the DPP think about eliminating the post by amending the relevant laws?

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