President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday met with Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and finance officials to discuss ways of dealing with the economic recession and asked that the Cabinet present practical strategies within three months on increasing exports and developing major industries.
The strategies will focus on diversifying export products, encouraging local industries to establish their own brands and acquiring key technologies, while pushing for the development of emerging industries, such as tourism, medical care, biotechnology and modern agriculture, the meeting concluded.
The signing of a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with China was also among the topics discussed at the meeting.
Ma said signing a CECA with China was part of his election platform and that his administration would push for the implementation of an agreement, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) told reporters after the three-hour closed-door meeting yesterday.
Wang said Ma told the meeting that as to the title, content and form of the agreement, he would seek opinions from the public. The opposition party and the public were welcome to share their thoughts on the issues, Ma said, adding that normalizing cross-strait economic and trade relations remained a major aim of his administration and that the government would continue pushing for more cross-strait exchanges, while seeking public consensus.
Ma asked Liu and the Cabinet to report on the current economic situation and possible solutions to the downturn after the latest data released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) published on Wednesday showed the nation’s economy was officially in recession. The data showed that GDP shrank by 8.36 percent in the fourth quarter of last year after a bigger-than-expected decline in exports that prompted the private sector to halt or delay investment.
Council for Economic Planning and Development Chairman Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝) yesterday presented a report on the nation’s overall economic situation and possible solutions to the financial crisis.
Ma and the Cabinet focused their discussion on the long-term development of local industries amid the global financial crisis. Specific policies were not included in the discussion, Wang said.
Ma called on the Cabinet to invite public bids for public construction works and to implement the projects as quickly as possible. He said he expected the legislature to pass a NT$500 billion (US$14.3 billion) budget so that the government could improve the economic situation.
Wang dismissed talk of a possible Cabinet reshuffle because of the financial crisis and stressed that the meeting was held simply to discuss solutions to the recession.
“The Cabinet’s strategies to revive the economy are no different from those presented by other nations’ governments. However, the president suggested that the Cabinet should pay particular attention to their effectiveness and the public’s expectations,” Wang said.
Ma will preside over another meeting this morning to discuss major social issues, including the possible renaming of Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue