CNA file photo

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is carefully considering the choice of the new premier after his proposal to let the legislative majority form a new Cabinet was rejected by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), an official said Saturday.

Based on the principle of respecting the legislative majority, Ma will consult with the DPP before announcing the name of the new premier, according to Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信).

Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) led his Cabinet members to resign en masse on Monday in the wake of the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, which saw DPP's Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) grab 56 percent of the vote to win the presidency and her party garner 68 seats in the 113-member Legislature.

Mao has insisted on leaving the post despite Ma's hope that he will stay on until the president can persuade the DPP to form a new Cabinet. Mao has since taken leave with his deputy, Simon Chang (張善政), acting on his behalf.

During a meeting with Presidential Office Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) on Saturday, former DPP Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) formally turned down on Tsai's behalf Ma's offer for the DPP to form a new Cabinet, Chen said.

The newly elected lawmakers will be sworn in on Feb. 1, more than three months earlier than Tsai's inauguration.

(By Claudia Liu and Y.F. Low)
ENDITEM/Huang