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Boosting economy will take time: Liu

Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said yesterday that fulfilling President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) campaign promise to fix the economy would take time, urging the public to have patience.

“The campaign slogan ‘Ma will turn things around right away’ (馬上好) put a lot of pressure on us. I think the slogan should have been ‘Ma will turn things around gradually’ (馬上漸漸好),” Liu said while addressing a meeting in Hsinchu County.

Liu and other Cabinet members met city and county heads and members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to discuss the economic situation.

Promising to gradually bolster the economy, Liu defended the Cabinet’s decision to raise prices of gas, utilities and commodities, saying that freezing prices would only have exacerbated the situation.

Liu said the Cabinet’s economic stimulus package, with a budget of NT$130.1 billion (US$4.28 billion), along with a supplementary budget, could boost economic growth by 0.45 percentage points and ease the impact of rising commodity and fuel prices.

Liu said the Cabinet would improve communication with local governments.

Local government heads urged Ma and his Cabinet to visit other cities and counties more often to gain a better understanding of the economic needs of each region. The Cabinet should contact local governments to arrange times for inspection tours, they said.

In response to local government concerns that state-controlled Taiwan Fertilizer Co (台灣肥料) is hoarding fertilizers and that fertilizers were too costly for farmers, Liu said the government would address the situation.

“We will catch anyone who is hoarding fertilizer and ask the company to reorganize its structure,” he said.

Last month, the Cabinet lifted a three-year freeze on fertilizer prices, allowing suppliers to factor in the rising costs of raw materials.

Farmers in the central and southern part of the country protested the change and said the move encouraged hoarding, leading to a shortage of fertilizer.

Also last month, the government raised gas prices by NT$6.5 per liter and premium grade diesel by NT$7.2 per liter in response to soaring oil prices. The prices will rise again next month.

Also See: Tsai blames policies for economic woes
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