Youth employment becoming hot topic

Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) announced yesterday that the Executive Yuan will convene a national conference to work out long-term government policy as well as medium and short-term goals for youth manpower development.

Government officials, industrialists and academics will be invited to take part in the conference to discuss issues relating to education and employment as well as various national development and investment projects, he said.

Hsieh made the remarks after hearing a report on conclusions about young people's employment, educational resources and government's youth policy on the third day of a national youth conference that began Friday.

Conference participants conducted in-depth and extensive discussions of various issues, Hsieh said, claiming that the forum has enabled people to participate in policy-making.

The government's responsibility is to provide young people with development opportunities, he said.

Touching on young people's participation in politics, Hsieh noted that the government is planning to launch a second phase of constitutional reforms to lower the minimum age for civic rights, including election, recall, referendum and initiative. Although there are still some disputes about the minimum age, Hsieh pointed out, the age is expected to be lowered from 20 years to 18 based upon a preliminary consensus.