Rock Hsu appointed acting SEF chairman: MAC

Taipei, July 18 (CNA) Rock Hsu (許勝雄), the vice chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), will serve as acting chairman of the foundation with immediate effect, following the resignation last week of Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) over corruption accusations, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Thursday.

MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) made the announcement at a press conference, 11 days after Cheng resigned on July 7.

The SEF, a semi-official organization tasked by Taiwan's government with handling technical matters involving China, will now be led by the 80-year-old Hsu, who also served as acting SEF chairman from 2020 to 2023.

Hsu is the president of Kinpo-Compal Group. His previous posts also include serving as a senior advisor to the president.

Cheng, who took over as SEF chairman on June 7, is currently being detained and held incommunicado over corruption allegations, after he was question by prosecutors earlier this month, as part of an investigation into alleged corruption involving a land zoning deal that occurred during his tenure as mayor of Taoyuan from 2014-2022.

Before taking up the post at the SEF, Cheng served as vice premier from Jan. 31, 2023 to May 20, 2024.

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