Lawmakers across partisan lines yesterday voiced support for central bank Deputy Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) to succeed central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) next month.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) was one of the lawmakers who praised the selection, which has reportedly been made by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), but has yet to be confirmed publicly.
Picking Yang means taking advantage of his experience at the central bank, where he has worked since 1989, Wu said, adding that his familiarity with the institution would allow Yang to get off to a running start and would be good for the institution’s morale.
Echoing Wu, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said that Yang, who has worked with Perng for a long time, can be expected to follow Perng’s approach of stabilizing interest rates and the foreign exchange market.
The choice of Yang is also welcome because it steers clear of politics, Lai said, adding that Yang is a good candidate and should be able to maintain the central bank’s independence.
Following speculation, including a report in yesterday’s Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) saying Yang’s appointment had been finalized internally, a source familiar with the matter confirmed that Yang will be the next central bank governor.
Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said that once the decision has been made, the information would be made public in accordance with standard procedure.
Regardless of who becomes the next governor, the president expects the person to work well under pressure and avoid political affiliations to maintain the stability of the country’s economy, Presidential Office spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) said.
People First Party Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said he expected Yang to continue to use the appropriate monetary policy to support the nation’s economy, which is its main source of soft power, at a time when ties with China are worsening and Taiwan is faced with rising barriers in the global political arena.
While presidential advisor Chen Po-chih (陳博志) agreed with Yang’s selection, he urged him not to compare himself with Perng, but to follow his own path in leading the bank.
Otherwise, not earning an “A” grade as Perng did could throw Tang off following his monetary policy direction, Chen said.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
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The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final
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