Taipei, June 11 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen ordered a minor reshuffle of national security and foreign service officials Thursday, including envoys to the European Union and United Kingdom, the Presidential Office announced that day.

Tsai Ming-yen, deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council, is appointed Taiwan's top envoy to the EU, replacing Harry H.J. Tseng, who will become a deputy minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Office said in a statement.

Deputy foreign minister Hsu Szu-chien will replace Tsai while fellow deputy foreign minister Kelly Hsieh will head Taiwan's representative office in the U.K., according to the statement.

Lee Hahn-ming, a professor at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, is appointed as an advisor to the National Security Council, according to the Office.

President Tsai expects these officials to further strengthen the country's status and security, as the international situation changes rapidly, especially with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Presidential Office spokesman Ting Yun-kung (丁允恭) said.

According to the Office, Tsai Ming-yen has a doctoral degree from the Department of War Studies at King's College London and specializes in international strategy and foreign policy.

Tsai previously held various positions at the Mainland Affairs Council, Institute for National Defense and Security Research, Prospect Foundation and National Chung Hsing University.

Hsu, meanwhile, has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University in the U.S., previously served as president of Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and was an associate professor at National Tsing-Hua University before working at MOFA.

Hsieh, a seasoned diplomat, has served as Taiwan's representative to Russia, Thailand and director-general in several MOFA departments.

Tseng, who holds a doctoral degree in International Relations from the University of Virginia in the U.S., previously served as deputy secretary-general in the Presidential Office, deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council, as well as Taiwan's representative to Ireland and Palau.

Meanwhile, Lee has a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Information Engineering from National Taiwan University and was described by the Presidential Office as an information security specialist.