The appointment of China Airlines Co (華航) President Christine Tsung (宗才怡) as Minister of Economic Affairs has rattled the nerves of at least one of her new colleagues yesterday.
Premier-designate Yu Shyi-kun named Tsung to the position yesterday, but some questioned her lack of experience.
"She's not qualified for the job as she has little knowledge about Taiwan's industries," said an anonymous high-ranking ministry official.
"Since manufacturers are relocating to China, what is the priority for government policymaking? I question how much she truly understands Taiwan's economy," the official said.
Tsung "may have to delegate a bit more authority to her deputies to offset her scant experience in running a big government agency like this," he said.
Tsung said during a press conference yesterday that she believes Taiwan's economy will improve within two years.
"While Taiwan cannot alter the global economic downturn, our industrial and business sectors are renowned for their ability to adapt to challenges," Tsung said.
She promised to work hard to keep high-tech and high-value-added industries in country, as well as work to attract more foreign investment. But she didn't elaborate on what means she would use to achieve these goals.
Industry and business leaders were hoping that some new blood in the government would help to boost Taiwan's economy.
"The new minister is from the private sector, which will probably make her decisions less hampered by bureaucrats," said Luo Huai-chia (羅懷家), executive director of the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (電電公會).
"Bringing a successful corporate executive such as Tsung into the Cabinet will inject new vitality into the government. Also, by appointing an experienced hand in international marketing, the government's promotional efforts abroad could stand to benefit.
It would be "worth waiting" to see what policies she comes up with, since "she proved herself by turning around China Airlines over the last 17 months," said Chen Cheng-yi (陳正毅), spokesman for the General Chamber of Commerce (全國商總).
``We think the new Cabinet under Yu will be better able to execute [President] Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) policies," Chen said.
Nevertheless, there could still be problems ahead.
"Implementation of public policy is still uncertain because of a lack of effective operating mechanisms," said Ping Chew (周平), associate director at Standard and Poor's (Asia & Pacific).
"The new Cabinet, especially in the area of economic planning, is staffed with more professionals possessed with business acumen. They may come out with some business-friendly and pragmatic ideas, but implementation is another matter," Chew said.
The new Cabinet may also suffer from inadequate resources.
"Despite all the intentions and rhetoric to fix, for example, the `hollowing-out' matter, the available solutions are limited," Chew said. "It will take more than loosening restrictions to address this, despite the fact that more often than not these restrictions are bypassed. Unfortunately, economic policies are still subject to political constraints," he said.
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