TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Sunflower student movement leader Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) will serve as one of three deputy secretaries-general at the National Security Council (NSC), reports said Tuesday (May 14).
He will work under the leadership of the new NSC secretary-general, incumbent Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who will be succeeded at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) by Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). All new appointments are scheduled to take effect on May 20.
Lin, 35, gained prominence during the 2014 Sunflower protests against the hasty passage of a trade pact with China. As deputy secretary-general of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from 2019 to 2023, he managed international affairs, China policies, and political talks, making him familiar with foreign and defense issues, per Radio Taiwan International (RTI).
Lin also frequently visited other countries for meetings with government officials and think tank experts, where he discussed Taiwan’s situation. He also still maintained close contacts with democracy activists.
Lin’s fellow deputy secretaries-general at the NSC are former Deputy Foreign Minister Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) and retired Major General Liu Te-chin (劉得金).
According to the transition task force, President-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德) highly values national security affairs. He hopes the new NSC team will continue to assist the president in promoting foreign, defense, and national security policies.
In other appointments announced Tuesday, former DPP Legislator Mark Ho (何志偉) will serve as deputy presidential secretary-general. The Presidential Office will also have two new spokespersons, former SET News anchor Kuo Ya-hui (郭雅慧) and DPP Director of International Affairs Lii Wen (李問).