Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday expressed optimism over the inauguration of a new Cabinet headed by Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), while opposition lawmakers outlined the challenges facing it.
The DPP caucus said it hoped that Chen’s Cabinet would unite Taiwanese, take care of the masses, and win the trust of the public and the international community.
“Chen is genteel and down to earth. I believe that he will meet public expectations in pushing reforms,” DPP caucus secretary-general Wu Chi-ming (吳琪銘) said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
DPP caucus deputy secretary-general Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said that the geopolitical changes in the Taiwan Strait and the international community call for Chen to be grounded and to adopt a “new mindset.”
Hung praised the composition of the new Cabinet, with the addition of more female ministers and officials to represent the public.
He added that he hoped Chen’s team would be caring, thoughtful and create new opportunities for the nation.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus called on Chen to propose tangible policies to address four key issues: a slowing economy, low wages, the Labor Insurance System’s deficit and energy problems.
It would not matter how the Chen Cabinet styles itself if it could not resolve these issues, which affect everyone in the country, KMT caucus convener William Tseng (曾銘宗) said.
Chen’s Cabinet should have policies addressing a worsening economic situation, with GDP forecast to grow only 2.28 percent and the unemployment rate projected to reach 3.79 percent this year, he said.
KMT Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰) said that as the head of pension reforms in 2017, Chen had suggested that the annual increase in the labor insurance premium be capped at 0.5 percent from 2018 to this year, when the Labor Insurance Fund and the Labor Pension Fund are to be merged.
Chen also suggested at the time that if by this year, the government did not come up with a better plan, the annual premium should be increased by 1 percent, Fai said, adding that he would ask Chen about his plans for the insurance system as his previous statements were already six years old.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Hsieh Yi-feng (謝衣鳳) said that despite President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) promise in 2017 that the government would address the issue of low wages among young workers, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics figures showed that 59 percent of the nation’s 9.14 million workers earned less than NT$40,000 per month last year.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lee Te-wei (李德維) said that he would ask Chen, who supports abolishing nuclear power, about the government’s energy policy, especially as the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant’s second reactor is to be shut down in March, while the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant’s first reactor is to be retired next year.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to