Taipei, July 4 (CNA) Former Culture Minister Lee Yung-te (李永得) has taken over as the chairman of the Central News Agency (CNA) while Tseng Yen-ching (曾嬿卿) has become the first female president of the century-old news organization.
At a ceremony Monday in which Cabinet Secretary-General Li Men-yen (李孟諺) announced CNA's new board directors and supervisors, Lee took over the official chairman's seal from Liu Ka-shiang (劉克襄), whose second three-year term ended on June 30.
Addressing the ceremony, which was attended by Culture Minister Shih Che (史哲), Lee said he entered the political arena by accident 20 years ago after having worked in the media, and he was now returning to the media, also by accident.
Lee said he was honored to chair CNA, the oldest national news agency in Taiwan, and vowed to work together with his colleagues in the future.
News outlets need to earn the public's trust, he said, and he pledged to do his best to lead CNA to provide objective, balanced and accurate news and give readers a better understanding of Taiwan, in particular at a time when society is filled with misinformation.
Lee served as culture minister from May 2020 until January this year, during which time he oversaw the launch of TaiwanPlus, the country's first English-only video news and programming platform for an international audience.
Outside of politics, Lee worked at the Public Television Service, and the now-defunct Independence Evening Post.
In 1987, Lee and Independence Evening Post colleague Hsu Lu (徐璐) became the first Taiwanese journalists to visit China since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Liu said that during his six years at CNA, many readers expressed their appreciation for the agency because its reports served as an anchor that stabilized society amid chaos.
Liu said he had faith that Lee will be able to lead CNA to continue to help build the strength of the country.
Monday's board meeting announced that Tseng, who had been CNA's vice president since 2017, will become CNA's president, and the opening she left would be filled by CNA Editor-in-Chief Jay Chen (陳正杰).
