00:00An expected cabinet reshuffle hasn't even begun yet, and officials are already leaving their posts.
00:06Three quit Friday.
00:08Not all the resignations were a surprise.
00:11Digital Minister Huang Yen-nun's post was only meant to be temporary.
00:15And Deputy Education Minister Ye Pin-zheng had been facing controversy
00:18for revealing the identity of a student who said she'd been sexually assaulted.
00:23But then the Economy Minister, JW Guo, announced he's quitting too, citing health issues.
00:28This puts the progress of Taiwan's green energy transition,
00:32investment by Taiwanese firms, and industrial development policy in question.
00:37The head of the cabinet sees a chance for a fresh start.
00:58But on the political level, it's a fresh source of partisan divide.
01:03The main opposition, Kuomintang, and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party
01:06have very different takes on what's going on.
01:09Some in the Kuomintang say the rest of the cabinet should follow suit and quit en masse.
01:14They say a failed campaign to eject Kuomintang lawmakers from their seats
01:18is the current government's only real achievement.
01:20And they say the sitting cabinet lingering on
01:22after a referendum on nuclear power Saturday could hurt the country.
01:26The ruling Democratic Progressive Party, however,
01:49says cabinet officials aren't to blame for any lack of results.
01:53Instead, it blames the opposition for budget cuts
01:56that it says hobble the cabinet's ability to do its job properly.
01:59In a year of high political tensions,
02:18debate about the cabinet and whether it needs a total shake-up
02:21is yet another partisan wedge,
02:23and any common ground may prove hard to find.
02:25John Hsu and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.
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