Premier Lin Chuan today encouraged Cabinet members to be open-minded and mutually supportive, urging them to see things from other agencies' point of view and think about the public's perspective to become a unified team and avoid the kind of territorialism that is an obstacle to team progress.
Executive Yuan Spokesperson Hsu Kuo-yung relayed the premier's remarks following a Cabinet work conference.
While each Cabinet agency focuses on different policies, the premier stressed that the administrative team shares the same values, and urged all the attendees to seek greater balance, openness and transparency in their policymaking so that the team can operate more successfully.
The premier also encouraged senior officials to think about the meaning of "achievement." He said that agency heads must outline each team's vision and direction, forging ahead with a relentless courage, and fulfilling their responsibility to the best of their ability, leading their team to serve the public.
He also called on the heads of government agencies to utilize their professional skills to make forward-looking policies and develop the ability to foresee controversies and crises, while demonstrating strong leadership and respecting civil service personnel for their expertise.
The premier also underscored the importance of recruiting international talent while retaining domestic talent to foster domestic economic development. To address this issue, he said that the National Development Council has already proposed a draft bill regarding the recruitment and employment of foreign talent. The premier also encouraged all agencies to assess the best way to provide better career development opportunities to keep talent in Taiwan.
According to Spokesperson Hsu, interaction between the administrative team and the Legislature were also discussed at today's meeting. Regarding policy goals and directions, Cabinet agencies should communicate with legislators to the very best of their ability to the extent permitted under law. This will both help legislators serve their constituents, and help implement the administrative team's overall policy agenda, as far more discussion is required when legislators aren't aware of a policy before it is implemented
Turning to media interaction, Hsu said various Cabinet agencies should take the initiative in disclosing information to the media within the limits imposed by laws and regulations and confidentiality requirements. The government should make such information public and transparent to the media, and do its best to answer media questions and provide them with necessary information.
To streamline administrative procedures, unnecessary document back-and-forth should be avoided to prevent policy delays, Hsu said, adding that progress has lagged on many policies that have already been finalized—such as the establishment of the Centers for Disease Control's laboratory and the promotion of anti-terrorism work—and that implementation of such policies should be accelerated.
He continued by saying that budget figures are one way to quantify policy implementation, and successful budget implementation represents policy achievement. He also expressed hope that Cabinet agencies will budget funds more accurately, especially for special budgets to spur economic development.