The name-change policy concerning state-run enterprises (SMEs) announced by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is likely to work in principle, but makes case by case assessments necessary, a government official said yesterday.
The name change of SMEs under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications could be implemented without technical problems, Vice Minister Tsai Duei (蔡堆) said. However, since Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信), Chunghwa Post (中華郵政) and China Airlines (中華航空), the three businesses under the ministry's supervision, could encounter different problems during the process, they would need time to make evaluations and come up with solutions, Tsai said.
"We have no timetable for the implementation of the project," he said.
Chen said on Sunday that formal designations of the nation's overseas official missions and state-run enterprises should be changed in the next two years by including the word "Taiwan" in the names, in order to differentiate from those of the People's Republic of China.
follow policy
Meanwhile, Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) said SMEs under the ministry's supervision, including the Chinese Pet-roleum Corp (CPC, 中油), would follow the policy and would not need the full two years to carry it out.
"What should be done needs to be done quickly, as long as it is for the benefit of the country," she said.
Nevertheless, Ho said that China Steel Corp (
It is up to the company's investors and shareholders to decide if the firm should be renamed as "Taiwan Steel Corp," she said.
CPC said on Sunday that, as a state-run enterprise, the company will follow the government's decision once it becomes policy.
China Shipbuilding Corp (中船) acting chairman Fan Kuan-nan (范光男) said the firm would obey the government's decision, even though the name change could lead to extra costs to amend over 100 contracts the firm had signed in shipbuilding and vessel guarantees.
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