Influential business leaders yesterday urged Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) to stay on in his post, saying that frequent Cabinet reshuffles make policymaking unstable and the continuation of his role was important as the nation is in crisis.
“We hope Chang can put up with the criticism of him and continue to steer the ministry, as what the nation needs most now is stability and unity,” Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC, 工商協進會) chairman Lin Por-fong (林伯豐) said.
Chang and one of his deputies, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Woody Duh (杜紫軍), on Thursday offered to resign to assume responsibility for the gas pipeline explosions in Greater Kaohsiung last week, which killed 30 people and injured 310.
Photo: CNA
Chang would be the 18th Cabinet minister to resign since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) returned to power in 2008, and the turnover rate gives the party an impression of political instability, Lin said.
Lin, who is also chairman of Taiwan Glass Corp (台玻), said opposition legislators should show KMT politicians respect and dignity when they question their policies, despite holding different views.
Opposition parties might well govern in the future and the group do not want to see the government paralyzed by vicious partisan battles, Lin said.
Far Eastern Group (遠東集團) chairman Douglas Hsu (徐旭東) said it was more urgent to find the causes of the gas pipeline blast in Greater Kaohsiung last week and rebuild hit areas.
“Finger-pointing does nothing except hamper the reconstruction effort,” Hsu said.
He said Chang was a competent minister whose leadership is a valuable asset in Taiwan’s battle to remain competitive.
Hsu said he did not support a debate over whether petrochemical companies should be ousted from Taiwan, saying that the industry and related sectors account for more than 10 percent of the nation’s GDP and hire hundreds of thousands of employees.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) has said she would not allow companies to reinstall pipelines to deliver petrochemical products for the sake of public safety.
Lin agreed that reinstallation was not a good idea and said policymakers should figure out a solution acceptable to both the public and private sectors.
Local authorities could learn lessons from other developed countries and build open gas conduits that are easier to maintain and fix, Lin said.
Meanwhile, Taipei Computer Association president Tung Tsu-hsien (童子賢) said it was not easy to cultivate the skills of public servants to a competent level if they could not keep their jobs long enough.
Tung, also chairman of Pegatron Corp (和碩), an assembler of Apple’s iPhone and iPad products, urged both the public and private sectors to persuade Chang to stay and help lead the nation’s trade and economic development during a challenging period.
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