Vice premier urged to stay on

Business leaders yesterday expressed hope that Vice Premier Lin Hsin-i (林信義) who appears to be insisting on leaving the Cabinet after May 20, would stay for another term.

"Lin told us that he submitted his resignation to the president yesterday [Wednesday], but we hope the president will try to retain him," said Theodore Huang (黃茂雄), chairman of the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (工商協進會), after a breakfast meeting with top-ranking economic and financial officials including Lin, Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) and Minister of Finance Lin Chuan (林全).

Huang said that Lin Hsin-i has done a good job in restructuring state-owned enterprises, some of which have begun to turn a profit, and steering the nation's economic development through an economic downturn.

He added that it will be difficult for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to find a suitable replacement who has both vision and experience while having a deep knowledge about the state and private sectors.

He also expressed concern about cross-strait relations during Chen's second term.

Huang said despite the fact that China refuses to acknowledge Chen as a national leader, the business community expects cross-strait relations to improve so there won't be any trade barriers.

"Cross-strait economic cooperation shouldn't be sacrificed for any political confrontation," he said.

Nevertheless, Huang threw his support behind Chen, who he said was not a fundamentalist, but a political figure with the wisdom and capability to resolve cross-strait disagreements as well as domestic political confrontations.

During the breakfast meeting, the business association raised several concerns about the nation's economic and financial condition.

According to Huang, the group urged the government to stabilize the recent price fluctuations in commodities and raw materials while handling the possibility of inflationary pressures.

Prices of rice, bread and toilet paper have recently increased between 10 percent and 20 percent while utility prices and train fares may also rise, Huang said.

In response, Lin Yi-fu said that the government has no plan to raise utility prices. Lin Chuan said that the government will adjust import tariffs in an effort to reduce price fluctuation.

Huang also urged the government to accelerate its efforts to reach free-trade agreements with the US, Japan and Singapore since, he said, the economic benefits of joining the WTO have not fully emerged.

Taiwan is trying to push for similar pacts with other countries after the nation signed its first-ever free trade agreement with Panama last August.