NSC Chief Su Chi resigns

Su, secretary general of the National Security Council (NSC), made his resignation announcement at a press conference held along with Presidential Office spokesman Wang Yu-chi.

Wang said President Ma accepted with reluctance Su's request for stepping down.

The president recognizes and appreciates Su's significant contributions to the promotion of relations with the United States, China and Japan in the 20 months since Ma took office, Wang said.

President Ma also named Hu, the nation's former representative to Singapore and to Germany, to assume Su's post on Feb. 23, Wang said.

Hu, a career diplomat, has 35 years of experience in diplomatic and national security affairs, according to the spokesman.

Exhaustion and a growing desire to spend more time with family have prompted Su to step down. “I am actually very exhausted,” government sources quoted him as saying.

Su expressed to Ma his desire to quit after returning from a diplomatic tour to Central America at the end of January with the president, according to the sources.

Ma approved Su's resignation earlier in the day after holding several discussions with Su in recent days.

Su is expected to remain as one of Ma's important advisers on national policies, the sources said.

Su decided to leave the post at this time because he believes the NSC has made several achievements, including restoring the trust of the country's “important international friends” after the previous administration was wrought with corruption and causing distrust from key allies.

Also, the NSC has helped ease the tense situation between Taiwan and its long-time political rival China since Ma took office.

“Su hopes to take a break for a while because he never took a day off during his 20-month term in office,” the sources said.

Su is known for coining the term of “1992 consensus,” by which he asserted that Taiwan and China agreed to have their own interpretation of “One China” to avoid Taiwan's sovereignty issue becoming an obstacle in developing cross-strait relations with China.

Su had liver cancer in the past and requires health checkups every four months, the sources said, adding that Su has delayed his health exam several times because of his job.

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