Liberty Times (LT): When campaigning for the position, you said that Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp should be held publicly accountable. Now that you are in charge, how do you plan to implement such a policy?
Wu Yin-ning (吳音寧): Public accountability is not just about the company, but the government — the Republic of China government — should be publicly accountable for its very existence. If the government wants to make money, then the nation does not need a government; it only needs a company.
Since the lifting of martial law in 1987, Taiwan has transitioned from authoritarian government to democracy. However, while democratic ideas having taken root, there is still great power in commercial activities, so much so that the public mistakenly perceives the government from a commercial perspective.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
For example, the public judges the government’s actions based on its ability to finance itself, or espouses the sentiment that the government should make a basic profit. If we approach the concept of government from this perspective, then we are disregarding the basic, existential goal of the institution. The company is an embodiment of this example.
LT: Is it your opinion that the company should be run like a governmental organization?
Wu: The government does not actually own 100 percent of the company’s shares, but it does own nearly half. The purpose of the government’s stake is to ensure public accountability, or the company should just be run like any logistics company, as governmental shares have no significance.
Essentially, the company should play the role of an auctioneer connecting suppliers and consumers. The company’s main job is to establish a reasonable and transparent system with certain guarantees. The establishment of such a system is important for both the company and for the country.
LT: The company should operate very differently under your leadership, then?
Wu: My philosophy of management differs greatly from that of former company president Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜). The company dedicated itself to developing a foreign-trade division. I do not think the company should actively do business with foreign partners, whether importing or exporting. Doing business with foreign partners would not be a core concern under my leadership.
The company’s focus should return to its founding purpose — to promote local consumption of agricultural produce from Taiwan. The company could do this by focusing on providing a platform for producers to auction their goods to consumers or retailers. This is the most important goal and we should seek to play our part well. We should not think of profits, or of foreign trade.
The establishment of the foreign-trade division was more for political benefit than actual sales. Under former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, China wished to sell some of its produce through the company’s foreign trade division.
LT: Has such trade actually developed? Has Taiwan sold any surplus produce to China?
Wu: China is not our “little follower,” and we should not expect it to listen to us. The channel for produce sales should be mutual. Economics is not a one-sided affair; there must be sales and purchases.
If there must be interaction, China is not simply handing over its agricultural products to you; it might have political motives, or other agendas.
What is its goal? Is China simply being altruistic by taking care of Taiwan’s agricultural produce surplus? Just think; is it possible? No.
It is impossible for China to be so altruistic without acting to further its own aims. China is no fool.
LT: Would the company under your leadership have something to contribute on the issue of food safety?
Wu: We have already made amendments to the inspection procedures. Speaking of the procedures, there are serious issues with inspections as well. The short time between receiving produce, storing it and auctioning it is too short and the company can only afford to perform random inspections.
However, the standards on pesticide and herbicide use vary for different vegetables and it is impossible to examine them all. We have suggested that such examinations should also be made at the place of origin and will promote such a policy in the future. However, I do not think it will be easy.
LT: Does your father [poet Wu Sheng (吳晟)] oppose your taking the position?
Wu: Well, he is not exactly opposed to it, just worried about me as a father.
In his eyes, I am starting a job in Taipei while originating from the countryside. Besides, he knows my shortcomings. For instance, I might not be shrewd enough or tough enough. He worries that I will be framed for some wrong, but I am not afraid, nor do I want to use this position as some sort of a springboard.
I decided to take the position because I wish to fully understand the company and what it stands for and want to attempt to effect change.
If I manage to introduce many changes, that would mean I have done my job to the best of my ability; if there would be only few changes, that would be due to my lack of ability. That is all.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS