A handover ceremony for incoming Premier Chen Chien-jen was held on January 31 at the Assembly Hall of the Executive Yuan. The premier vowed to build a compassionate and resilient Taiwan, faithfully serve the public, accelerate the pace of policy implementation, lighten people's burdens and ameliorate social concerns, so that every member of the public feels cared for and Taiwan has the resilience to meet the challenges of the next ten years, while also maintaining its competitive edge.
Premier Chen expressed his deepest thanks to outgoing Premier Su Tseng-chang for his leadership and energy during his more than four years as premier. Premier Chen said that his predecessor stabilized a difficult political situation, delivered an administration that has had a profound effect on people's lives, propelled forward infrastructure projects, provided leadership throughout the pandemic, and bestowed a legacy of model governance in every corner of the nation, leaving behind a firm foundation for the new cabinet to build upon.
After experiencing the pandemic, the Taiwanese people long for a return to normal life, the premier said. The government is working with all possible speed to restore those former scenes of thriving prosperity, strengthen the resilience of the nation's economy, society and infrastructure, and ensure that salaried workers, childrearing households and vulnerable groups in particular are compassionately provided for. To accomplish these objectives, the government will accelerate promotion of its administrative programs that are currently most urgent. Aside from the gradual easing of COVID-19 measures to resume normal life, the government will utilize last year's tax revenue surplus to assist people and industries impacted by the pandemic. A special bill to boost economic and social resilience and share the proceeds of growth in the post-pandemic era, previously planned out by Premier Su's administrative team, will also comprehensively boost the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, and improve the infrastructure of farming and fishing villages.
Faced with bleak shifts in the international economy and global inflation, Premier Chen said that Taiwan's social welfare system must become more comprehensive, from childrearing to long-term care. Whether it is the pressure of paying rent, mortgages or student loans, or tackling issues of labor shortage, drugs, fraud or organized crime, the goal of his administrative team is to lighten people's burdens, reassure the public and make every citizen feel compassionately cared for.