Premier Mao Chi-kuo received representatives from the Council for Industrial and Commercial Development today, thanking the group for their valuable advice and reiterating the administration's commitment to serving the needs of different groups.
Taiwan's industrial and commercial sector, for example, has always had solid foundations in information and communications technology and traditional electrical manufacturing, Mao said. But as global markets evolved and online technologies changed, the sector had to become more innovative and needed to transform, upgrade and add value to their products and services. The government has worked hard to help these businesses and the results are becoming more apparent. Mao hopes all sectors of society will support the government in building a stronger foundation for Taiwan's industries.
Responding to questions about food safety, Premier Mao pointed out that the Executive Yuan established a comprehensive food safety system after a string of edible oil scares surfaced in Taiwan last year. The government built a three-tiered system for quality control, and emphasized source management, border control and product tracking. The new system will require some time to be fully implemented, the premier said, and authorities will continue to inspect major food staples such as rice, oil and salt. These efforts may take time, but the government will persist, Mao pledged.
Some of the food safety problems were caused by harmful ingredients while others were related to product mislabeling, the premier continued. He believes helping the food industry establish orderly procedures on all fronts is a worthwhile goal.
Regarding suggestions for disaster reduction, Premier Mao said that the government has made great efforts since the powerful Typhoon Morakot of 2009, implementing a comprehensive mechanism to track typhoons and mitigate damage. For instance, the premier said, a rainfall forecast system has been developed for the Suhua Highway, allowing authorities to issue road warnings according to predicted precipitation levels.
As for the problem of water resources, Premier Mao said that when the government discovered in the fourth quarter of 2014 that Taiwan had received 1,000 millimeters less than the average 2,500 millimeters of rainfall in a year, it immediately kicked in water conservation measures and called for aggressive removal of excess reservoir sediment. Looking ahead, the government plans to make recycled household wastewater the main supply for industries, and to encourage the industrial sector to recycle and reuse 80 percent of its own wastewater. Further, the proportion of water lost due to leaky pipes should be brought below 15 percent.
The premier also addressed questions concerning industrial land development. For public land registered for industrial purposes and not yet sold, the government plans in the future to rent instead of sell the land. For land that has been sold but has not been developed, the government will adjust property taxes to encourage better utilization of the land. As for the metro line connecting Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Taipei City, Mao stressed that the government will work to overcome operational complexities and endeavor to launch the line as scheduled by year-end.