Premier Jiang Yi-huah and Cabinet members today took part in a meeting between the executive and legislative branches to discuss government policies and bills to be passed during the next legislative session.
"With the Legislature convening tomorrow, the new Cabinet's performance will become a focus of public concern. Administrative officials have to go all-out to grasp this golden opportunity to speed up Taiwan's economic recovery," said Jiang. "I expect that in addition to bolstering our economy and making our society prosperous, this courageous and innovative team excelling in policy formulation, execution and communication will lay the foundation for greater decorum and respect for diverse opinions in our politics, with all debates anchored in rational communication. This will give the public a fresh outlook on government."
The premier stated that a new dawn for the domestic economy has come, and the Cabinet has formulated five directives to meet it:
1. Adjusting Taiwan's economic structure to boost trade through industrial upgrades and trade liberalization, which will help expedite regional economic integration
2. Expediting the completion of sound infrastructure and balancing regional development to minimize rural-urban discrepancies
3. Extending assistance networks for the disadvantaged to substantiate social justice
4. Ensuring sound pension systems and protecting the interests of retirees by reforming the programs to ensure social security for all the elderly
5. Cultivating talents through formal and informal education to enrich humanistic culture, ensure employers' needs are met and allow each person to realize his potential as well, so that Taiwanese are not only wealthy but also have great spiritual depth.
Taiwan has faced significant internal and external challenges over the past year, Jiang noted, including a sluggish economy worsened by the European debt crisis and resultant global instability. The Executive Yuan has put forward the Economic Power-Up Plan in response, which includes a full-scale examination of every factor in Taiwan's economic development and the subsequent formulation of short-, mid- and long-term response measures.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics also has an optimistic economic forecast. Furthermore, rating agencies around the world including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development have given Taiwan high scores for its performance over the past year.
Premier Jiang also encouraged his Cabinet members to do their best to get in touch with groups from every corner of civil society so that the Cabinet's democratic ideals are reflected in its administration of policy.
"From the perspective of political democracy, communication means exchanging views with people of differing opinions, persuading each other and finally choosing the path that everyone most agrees on," Jiang said. "This is how objectives are accomplished and a nation advances, and it is the most precious kind of experience that democratic governance gives humanity.
"Communication is not just a technique for interpersonal interaction; it is also part and parcel of a living democracy. I expect my colleagues in the Cabinet to uphold this spirit and implement it."
Jiang expressed special concern about pension reform, which he spearheaded as convener of the reform task force while serving as vice premier. At that time, Jiang reported the proposals of the Council of Labor Affairs, Directorate-General of Personal Administration (DGPA), Ministry of National Defense (MND), Ministry of Education (MOE) and Council for Economic Planning and Development to the Kuomintang legislative caucus. However, the manner of adjusting the premium rate and replacement rate of laborers had not yet been elaborated at that time.
After three months of planning, the pension reform plan was publicized on January 30 this year. It included proposals for the civil servants' pension fund, which is under the jurisdiction of the Examination Yuan, and the labor, military and educational personnel funds that belong to the Executive Yuan's jurisdiction as regulated by the ROC Constitution.
The premier commenced intensive communication and visits on the plan February 1, and with the Legislature now to convene, he has assigned Minister without Portfolio Steven S.K. Chen to preside over the pension reform task force. Vice Premier Mao will succeed Chen in one month and oversee the communication and reform efforts until the final bill is approved by the Legislature.
In the first stage of the pension reform effort, over 100 seminars were held, and 119 experts provided their suggestions on the legislation. In the second, relevant agencies like the DGPA, MND and MOE and the Examination Yuan's Ministry of Civil Service will hold over 120 seminars in counties and cities nationwide to gather opinions on the bill.
The Executive Yuan hopes the Legislature will discuss its proposal through March and that the bill finally approved is the most responsible and sustainable possible.
Over 100 other bills will also be deliberated in the coming session, including general and organizational acts and bills related to two UN covenants on human rights, Jiang noted. Hence, it will be a trying term, and he asked the legislators to give their full support to the Executive Yuan. In turn, he instructed his Executive Yuan colleagues to lend their full efforts to communicating with the Legislature and providing it the information it needs for deliberations to run efficiently.
"Thanks to the joint efforts of the Legislature and the Executive Yuan, we will reach new heights," Jiang concluded.