Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday paid a personal visit to the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) to express support for strengthening the body’s advisory and policymaking functions.
“I will make a poor premier if the council fails to function in a competent and efficient manner,” CEPD chief secretary York Liao (廖耀宗) quoted Wu as telling a media briefing.
To demonstrate his seriousness, the premier promised to exercise closer oversight of the council’s weekly meeting attendance record.
The council is responsible for drafting overall plans for national economic development, evaluating their feasibility, and coordinating and monitoring their implementation. It has 11 members including the ministers of finance, banking, transportation, agriculture, budget and labor, among others.
Liao said before 1997, 98 percent of policy issues were resolved in the council before heading to the Cabinet.
“The council, dubbed a ‘small Cabinet,’ has increasingly weakened over the years,” Liao said.
To reverse the trend, the council plans to submit the attendance records to the premier on a quarterly basis, Liao said.
Wu also said the council should adopt a forward-looking perspective when mapping out national economic development plans and factor in climate change, environmental protection and other concerns as GDP growth is pursued.
The premier also said domestic manufacturers should upgrade and diversify so they may be less vulnerable to external shocks, Liao said.
Wu urged the council to study the issue and recommend measures to help facilitate industrial transitions, Liao said.
Vice Premier Eric Chu (朱立倫) directed the council to brainstorm ways to channel idle funds to public construction works, Liao said.
Chu said most investments since 2000 had concentrated on the financial sector, creating limited job opportunities or economic growth, Liao said.
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