Key Takeaways
- Taiwan appoints Ex-Chairman of ruling DPP party as new Prime Minister, marking a significant shift in the island’s governance.
- Cho Jung-tai, former chairman of the DPP, takes office after Lai and Vice President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim inauguration.
- The appointment has significant implications for Taiwan’s independence movement and relations with mainland China.
Moscow: Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te appointed former chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Cho Jung-tai as Taiwan’s new prime minister on Wednesday, the media reported.
In January, Taiwan held a general election in which pro-independence candidate Lai, also of the ruling DPP, won with 40.05% of the vote to head the island’s local administration.
Cho will take office after Lai and Vice President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim are inaugurated on May 20, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
The 65-year-old politician served as DPP chairman from early 2019 until then-Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen’s second tenure as the island’s head in May 2020, the report said.
Taiwan has been governed independently of mainland China since 1949. This has led to a complex relationship with Beijing, which views Taiwan as its province. However, Taiwan maintains that it is an autonomous country, but has not declared independence. Beijing opposes any official contacts between foreign states and Taipei, and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.
