Taipei will shuffle the leadership of the quasi-official agency in charge of cross-strait negotiations amid speculation that a senior legislator with the ruling party will become the island's top envoy to the mainland.
Shi Hwei-yow, secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), confirmed changes were being made to the agency.
'The Straits Exchange Foundation is preparing a reshuffle in early November but I have not yet heard about [the details],' Mr Shi told the South China Morning Post last night.
Mr Shi refused to comment on a report carried by Taiwan's United Daily Evening News yesterday, which said Chang Chun-hung, 64, a legislator with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, would replace Koo Chen-fu, 85, a Kuomintang heavyweight, to become chairman of the foundation.
The United Daily Evening News also said Mr Shi was expected to step down, but he declined to respond to the speculation.
The report said Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's decision to replace the key negotiator comes in anticipation of the revival of direct flights and trading links with the mainland.