The DPP-led Cabinet, ushering in its second year, will have to excell itself in the economic and financial fields in order to win back the public's confidence, political observers said.
"They [members of the Cabinet with economic and financial portfolios] may not be the best team, but they've been in operation for a year and understand the DPP government's policies well," DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) said.
The economic downturn from which Taiwan is currently suffering has hobbled the DPP's first year in office. The Cabinet has not fully demonstrated to the public that it can take total control of the country's economic development since, as some DPP officials have argued, most Cabinet members who deal with financial and economic issues are former KMT officials. But Lee believed that overall the Cabinet is heading in the right direction.
Lee therefore ruled out the possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle before the year-end elections, though he supported the idea of forming a coalition Cabinet after polling takes place.
When evaluating the Cabinet's performance for the past year, Lee stressed the importance of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Minister without portfolio, Chung Chin (
"But the Cabinet will still have to fine tune its policies to improve the interaction and communication between itself and the legislature," Chung said, stressing that past standoffs between the executive and legislative branches has triggered severe political instability.
The standoff intensified when Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) announced last October that he had unilaterally decided to scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四) without the legislature's consent. For this, Chang was branded "persona non grata" and kept out of all legislative functions for almost three months.
Lawmakers from opposition parties expressed their disappointment with the Cabinet's lack of respect for the rule of law over the past year.
"The DPP government's obvious attempts to challenge the majority-controlled legislature has had a negative impact on its rule," KMT Legislator Chen Hung-chi (陳鴻基) said.
Chen criticized the DPP government for being adept at shifting blame on to opposition parties by saying that "all its difficulties in office stem from the old KMT regime and its own failure to seize a majority of seats in the legislature."
He urged the Cabinet to learn from past mistakes and work out how to reach compromises when inter-party negotiations were involved.
In spite of the criticisms leveled at the Cabinet, the premier said he was very much satisfied with the Ministry of Justice's efforts to eradicate "black gold."
"For the past year, the Cabinet's efforts to crack down on black gold has earned the approval of the public," Chang said on Tuesday.
Echoing Chang's view, former premier Tang also said that of all the members of the Cabinet, Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) had impressed him the most.
"A lot of people say that [Chen Ding-nan] is a ruthless government official, but I found that he was a man of discipline after having worked with him. He is truly an honest and upright functionary," Tang was quoted as saying in an interview with the Chinese-language press recently.
Tang also said that his four months in office helped decrease the hostility felt within the DPP and by Chen himself of the military, which in the past looked askance at the then opposition's pro-independence leanings.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS