Control Yuan to propose a review of economic rules

Control Yuan members agreed yesterday to propose to the Executive Yuan a comprehensive review of all government declarations or regulations and to repeal or amend any such rules which hinder the raising of the nation's economic competitiveness.

Such a proposal is not binding on the Executive Yuan.

At the monthly meeting for all Control Yuan members yesterday, possible solutions to the nation's economic recession were discussed, and a consensus was reached that the Cabinet should be advised that any regulation that will hinder the nation's economic growth should be removed.

Control Yuan Secretary-General Tu Shan-liang (杜善良) told the media that the Control Yuan will send its suggestion to the Executive Yuan "that all laws, administrative decrees and administrative restrictions be reviewed with a view to amendment or repeal of any which might hinder the raising of national competitiveness."

Control Yuan member Lee Shen-yi (李伸一) cited Taiwan's economic growth rate of minus 2.1 percent for last year, as he stressed that Taiwan faced grave challenges.

Lee said Taiwan will soon face challenges posed by China's economic advantages, including its vast market, low labor costs, flexible land-use policies, and the trend toward global trade alliances. "International competition is severe. Promoting Taiwan's competitiveness is an urgent matter for the government to address," Lee said.

"The first step in promoting Taiwan's competitiveness is relaxing regulations that could become obstacles," Lee added.

The Control Yuan will also urge the Executive Yuan to listen to the opinions of people whose interests are hurt by public policy. Tu cited as an example the fact that large areas of land reserved for use by industry remain unused because of the "inflexibility" of the government's land-price policy.

"There may be an excess of land reserved for certain industries, while that available for science parks is insufficient. Changing the use of land is difficult under current regulations, which results in insufficient land being used," Tu added.

"This is an aspect of the allocation of national resources where there are problems. If the regulations were flexible, the problem could be solved," Tu said.

Tu said that the suggestion will be sent to the Executive Yuan "as soon as possible," and that the Control Yuan would ask for a reply within "a certain period," though he wouldn't give a precise deadline.