Tsao Chi-hung to head the Council of Agriculture, Lee Ying-yuan to take over as head of the Environmental Protection Administration, second wave of the cabinet finalized
Premier-designate Lin Chuan announced the second wave of Cabinet appointments this afternoon. The Council of Agriculture minister is confirmed to be former Pingtung County magistrate Tsao Chi-hung, and the Environmental Protection Administration chief will be Democratic Progressive Party legislator Lee Ying-yuan. Their respective deputies are National Chung Hsing University professor Chen Chi-chung and environmental social movement lawyer Jan Shun-gui; Tsao Chi-hung said that going to the Council of Agriculture is not about becoming an official, but about coming to "serve". Facing the challenge of foreign pork imports, in the future he will strengthen the quality of Taiwan pork, so that Taiwan can be freed from the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic area in order to export, and he also plans to amend the "Agricultural Development Act" to lengthen the transfer time for farmhouses.
In addition to the Council of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Administration, the list also includes Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Mei-ling, Public Construction Commission minister and concurrent minister without portfolio Wu Hong-mo, National Development Council minister and concurrent minister without portfolio Chen Tain-jy, Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san, and Minister of Labor Kuo Fang-yu.
Lin Chuan said that Tsao Chi-hung is a person with ideas. The DPP think tank had consulted him many times, and their interactions were good. He also once served as Pingtung County magistrate, deeply understands local public opinion and needs, handles matters with sufficient steadiness, and won a good reputation during his tenure. Pingtung is a major agricultural county. Taiwan agriculture needs to transform, upgrade, develop distinctive features, improve quality and competitiveness, and needs a reputable and trustworthy person to communicate, especially with farmers, in order to promote agricultural modernization.
