As the Cross-Strait Agreement on Trade in Services has been high on the public agenda recently, the government should capitalize on this opportunity to strongly publicize the contents of the pact, Premier Jiang Yi-huah remarked at the Cabinet meeting today.
The premier enjoined the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the Executive Yuan's Office of Information Services (OIS) to organize materials—including both professional and layman's versions—that will help interested citizenry swiftly get hold of accurate information about the pact. Ministries with related industries under their jurisdiction must collaborate closely to provide needed information as well, he added.
"When the public truly cares about the gains and losses resulting from public policies, it is also the time for the government to campaign sweepingly and defend these policies," Jiang pointed out. He directed the OIS to examine the design, content user-friendliness and download convenience of the MOEA's website on the agreement to ensure that interested citizenry can quickly access and acquire desired data.
The services agreement has sparked special interest on school campuses, the premier noted, saying, "The government welcomes this trend and is open to instructions and examinations of the agreement's contents by various sectors of society. It is good for citizens to get to know public policies through democratic and rational manners, which also opens up opportunities for the government to expound on the agreement's advantages and how it boosts national development."
Jiang enjoined the Ministry of Education and MOEA to collaborate closely with each other. He also asked the heads of agencies that oversee operations related to the accord to agree to interviews with and reporting by both print and electronic media and to accept private organizations' and educational institutions' invitations to lecture on the agreement. In so doing they can capitalize on opportunities to help citizens understand the essence and nature of the pact, he said.