Taipei: Incumbent head prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors Office Hsu Hsi-hsiang will take office as acting prosecutor-general on Friday, according to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), after his nomination for the official position was rejected by the Legislature two days earlier.

According to Focus Taiwan, the MOJ received a formal letter from the Presidential Office on Thursday appointing Hsu to the position in an acting capacity after the current prosecutor-general, Hsing Tai-chao, formally completed his four-year term on Thursday.

Hsu's appointment came two days after the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan rejected President Lai Ching-te's nomination of Hsu for the official position. Lai nominated Hsu on March 13, and after cross-party negotiations in the Legislature on April 17, the nomination advanced to a floor vote. It was rejected on Tuesday with the main opposition Kuomintang and the smaller Taiwan People's Party voting down Hsu's appointment.

On Tuesday, the MOJ submitted a recommendation through the Cabinet for the president to appoint an acting prosecutor-general. The acting prosecutor-general serves until a new nominee is announced and confirmed by the Legislature.

In accordance with the Court Organization Act, the president is required to submit a new nominee for prosecutor-general within three months of the position becoming vacant. Hsu, 63, has served in various capacities including head prosecutor at district prosecutors offices in Kinmen, Hsinchu, Changhua, and New Taipei, and as head prosecutor of the Taichung branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office. He has also held the position of deputy minister of justice, head of the Ethics Office at the Coast Guard Administration, and deputy director-general of the National Security Bureau.