Premier Frank Hsieh (
"To raise utility prices is not that simple. It requires expert evaluation and the legislature's final approval, so it will definitely take a while," the premier said.
"There is no need to panic but I would sincerely urge the public to help conserve more electric power and water anyway," he said.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
The premier made his remarks during the opening speech of the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.
He said that there are three concerns for the government to consider when it came to raising utility prices.
"First of all, the market mechanism is the most important thing; secondly, [we must adhere to] the government's economic policies; finally [we must adhere to] the government's energy policies," the premier said.
In the meantime, Hsieh also said that the proposal to raise utility prices was meant to encourage the public to conserve as many resources as possible.
"If the prices remain unchanged, people will not learn the lesson that our resources will not always be available. In addition, if people do not consume that much, we will not have to come up with other solutions, such as establishing more nuclear power plants, to solve the problem of power shortages," Hsieh said.
As for gas prices, the premier said that the government would not take action at the moment. He would not say whether gas prices would go up in the near future.
Yesterday was also Hsieh's first time to not wear his jacket and tie to work. Instead, he put on grey "island wear" to meet the press and his fellow Cabinet members.
"Island wear" shirts are popular and are regarded as formal wear for men in Southeast Asia and many South Pacific countries.
"Wearing `island wear' is cool and convenient, and will help conserve power since we do not have to rely on air conditioning so much," Hsieh said.
The idea of men wearing less formal attire to work originated in Japan, which has introduced a casual dress code so that office air conditioners can be turned down to save electricity and help the country reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the measure, air-conditioners must be set at 28?C. Men will not have to wear a suit and tie between June 1 and Sept. 30, so that more air-conditioners can be turned down, or off.
The idea was first mentioned here to Cabinet Spokesman Cho Jung-tai (
Cho acknowledged the idea, and said that he would report it to Hsieh.
"I like this. It is comfortable. But the blemish is that the shirt does not have enough pockets for me, so I cannot carry as many items as I did in my suit and tie," Hsieh said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS