Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said he had high expectations for new Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and his Cabinet, saying yesterday that Jiang should focus on the economy to improve people’s livelihoods amid the accelerating global economic recovery.
Su said he was pushing a “three-four-five” goal for the Cabinet that was sworn in yesterday, the first working day after the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday.
The “three-four-five” goal entails an annual growth rate in average wages of 3 percent, an unemployment rate of less than 4 percent and a GDP growth rate of more than 5 percent, Su said.
“Jiang and his Cabinet should take advantage of the global recovery, in particular the warming economic climate in some of Taiwan’s major trade partners, Japan, the EU and the US,” the chairman told reporters.
The global economy looks set for a rebound from the European debt crisis because Washington has expressed its intention to seek a free-trade agreement with the EU and Japan appeared to be ready to turn its decade-long economic downturn around, Su said.
The DPP will support the government’s measures to improve the economy, he added.
Turning to the DPP itself, Su said the party’s goal of returning to power in 2016 remained unchanged and said he would do whatever it takes to reach that goal.
“Our grand goal for this year would be safety, freedom and well-being for the people, which includes food safety, hygiene safety, national security and freedom of the media, as well as sound implementation of the pension reform and an improved economic environment,” he said.
The DPP is expected to work hard this year to bolster its connections with local communities in preparation for the local elections next year and this will include policy guidelines on local governance for DPP-governed cities and counties, said Lin Wan-i (林萬億), executive director of the DPP’s think tank.
While the think tank is not in charge of electoral affairs, it is conducting a study on all administrative zones in the nation to identify problems in governance and their potential as preparatory work for the elections, Lin said.
The think tank hoped to provide a set of policies, with some to be shared by all DPP-governed cities and counties and others to be tailor-made based on the characteristics and needs of the various zones for those cities, Lin said.
Non-DPP governed administrative zones would be divided into four groups according to the party’s chances of winning those constituencies, the director said.
For now, Greater Taichung, Changhua County, Nantou County, Penghu County and Chiayi City are considered “winnable” constituencies, Lin said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2