President-elect Lai names incoming national security team (update)

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) will head Taiwan's defense ministry, and current Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) will replace him at the NSC, when the new administration takes office on May 20, the incoming president announced Thursday.

Koo, 65, will succeed Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正), becoming the seventh civilian to serve as defense minister in the Republic of China (Taiwan), where that position has been held more often by retired senior military officers.

Meanwhile, President-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德) also announced Thursday that the new foreign minister replacing Wu will be Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), the current secretary-general to the president and a former Taichung mayor.

Another key national security post, that of National Security Bureau (NSB) director-general, will be retained by 56-year-old Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥), Lai said at a press conference in Taipei.

All the members of the new security team have wide-ranging expertise and have been working together in the current administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who will end her maximum two four-year terms on May 20, according to Lai.

Taiwan will be best served by government officials with experience across various fields, given the current geopolitical situation, the expansion of authoritarianism and the restructuring of the global supply chain, Lai said.

Lai, who will be inaugurated as president on May 20, said he will lead the national security team and continue to expand Taiwan's efforts in the areas of international participation and cross-strait peace, while safeguarding national sovereignty, to promote regional peace and security, in line with Tsai's current policies.

The incoming defense minister, Koo, is an attorney by profession and a member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who has served as NSC secretary-general since May 2020 when Tsai began her second term.

Prior to that, he was chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission from 2017 to 2020 and served as a DPP legislator-at-large from February to August 2016.

Meanwhile, Lin, 60, has been serving as secretary-general to the president since January 2023, after he lost his bid to unseat New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) in late 2022.

Before Lin's appointment as Tsai's chief aide, he was ambassador-at-large in charge of Taiwan's digital New Southbound Policy initiatives, which were introduced by Tsai to enhance trade and exchanges between Taiwan and countries in Southeast and South Asia, as well as with Australia and New Zealand.

Weeks before the new government positions were announced, the local media had been citing inside sources as saying that Koo and Lin were poised to be named as defense and foreign ministers, respectively. The expected announcement of the two names drew a slew of criticism from opposition politicians, who argued that the men lacked the experience to serve well in those two fields.

On Thursday, Lai pushed back against those arguments, saying that Koo has rich experience in national security and national defense, having served at the NSC for four years.

Lin, meanwhile, is a former transportation minister, lawmaker and mayor, which means he has experience in domestic affairs, Lai said, adding that there is a strong correlation between domestic and foreign affairs.

After the announcements, Koo and Lin said Thursday that they were honored to be entrusted by Lai to head the respective ministries.

Koo told reporters that he is familiar with Taiwan's overall strategic self-defense goals and will do his best to modernize the Taiwanese troops.

He also pledged to promote training programs that will simulate actual battlefields and will seek to reform the nation's reserve forces as reliable backup for the regular troops.

Most importantly, Koo said, he will continue to build Taiwan's combat capability, in collaboration with other nations, to prevent China from taking military action against Taiwan.

In Lin's comments to reporters, he said that Taiwan is facing a unique and challenging situation on the global stage, and he will continue to uphold the "steadfast and trustworthy diplomacy," based on shared democratic values, in the interest of the country's development and survival.

He also pledged to promote economic and trade diplomacy and business cooperation with foreign countries in the hope of strengthening Taiwan's diplomacy efforts.

Also on Thursday, Lai announced that Lin's current position as the president's top aide will be filled by 60-year-old Pan Men-an (潘孟安), a senior member of Lai's presidential campaign and a two-term Pingtung County magistrate.

Former Defense Minister Yen Teh-fa (嚴德發), who has been serving as a senior advisor to the NSC since February 2021, will head the Veterans Affairs Council, Lai said.

Yen, 71, is a former NSC secretary-general and Chief of the General Staff.

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April 23: Latest Cabinet appointments: five old faces, one new face

April 19: Premier-designate Cho picks labor, health, environment ministers

April 16: New economics, national development heads tapped from private sector

April 12: Premier-designate Cho announces new interior, transportation ministers

April 12: New education, justice and culture ministers announced

April 11: Presidential aide Lin Chia-lung tipped to be Taiwan's new foreign minister