Shortly after the passage of the health-law amendment, Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang announced his resignation on Tuesday evening. When asked to give his evaluation of the new measure, Yaung said it's a huge improvement over the original version, though still far from satisfactory.

Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang tendered his resignation on Tuesday evening, and declined to speak to the media when he arrived at his office on Wednesday morning.

One day earlier, Yaung expressed regret that the second generation national health insurance reforms passed by the Legislative Yuan accounted for only 75% of proposed reforms, and said that he had done as much as he could.

After spending the entire day at the Legislative Yuan, Yaung returned to the Department of Health on Tuesday evening to announce his resignation.

In his statement, Yaung said that there would likely be no major obstacles in implementing the reforms, and that his successor should be able to step in immediately.

According to sources, Yaung's statement had been prepared long ago and he'd been waiting for the right time to make the announcement.

Tuesday was the third time that the 64-year old Yaung has tendered his resignation.

The first time occurred in October 2009 over the American beef import controversy, while the second place took place in March 2010 over insurance reforms.

When asked about his future plans, Yaung said that after spending 17 months in office, he now wants to become a bamboo farmer.