The appointment of veteran economist Hu Cheng-sheng (胡勝正) as minister without portfolio yesterday gives the minor Cabinet reshuffle a dose of economic clout.
But as director of Academia Sinica's economic institute, Hu faces an uphill battlefield strewn with economic landmines.
For starts, unemployment is at a 15-year high, international demand for Taiwan's export products is sliding and the domestic investment environment continues to deteriorate as the high-tech sector seeks greener pastures in China.
But one government watcher says that even with the addition of Hu -- a strong economic theorist -- he can achieve little on his own.
"He faces a very tough battle because he can't do the whole job by himself. He needs a strong team but the [economic] team is not functioning well," said Norman Yin (殷乃平), an economics professor at National Chengchi University.
"We can't put too much faith on one man's ability to deal with the economic problems the country is facing."
But Hu told the Taipei Times by phone yesterday that he was up to the task.
"I will do my best to help the premier improve the economy," Hu said. "While I am still unclear how I will assist the Cabinet, I believe the premier will probably have me focus on macroeconomics and monetary issues. But I won't know until Wednesday when I meet the premier and receive my instructions."
Hu, who served as an economics professor at Indiana's Purdue University from 1968 to 1996, returned to Taiwan to work for Academia Sinica in 1996. He received his PhD in 1967 in economics from the University of Rochester, New York.
Yesterday's reshuffle by Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Hu said that the trouble in the banking sector and monetary policymaking would top his list of priorities.
"The first issue is to reduce the ratio of non-performing loans, and the second is to improve information transparency in the monetary system," Hu said. "We have to focus on these to improve the credibility of the financial system."
Hu also said mapping out both a short- and long-term economic plan was the key to tackling both the economic slowdown and rising unemployment.
"We can resolve the two problems together by, in the short term, expanding domestic demand to increase employment and, in the long-term, by transforming our economic structure," Hu said.
According to Hu, he will also help coordinate economic-policymaking -- an area pundits say the Cabinet is weak in.
"I will be working closely with [the Ministries of Finance, Economic Affairs and the Council for Economic Planning and Development] to coordinate economic policymaking," Hu said.
But while Yin agreed that coordination was a priority, he said obtaining the cooperation of economic officials would prove to be a formidable task.
"Since economic officials have done little coordination in policymaking in the past 10 months, the public should not expect too much from them now" following Hu's appointment, Yin said.
"Economic and finance officials prefer to "blow their own horns," Yin said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS