Premier Tang Fei (唐飛) yesterday announced a plan by the Executive Yuan to establish a task force aimed at developing concrete solutions to the nation's economic woes.
Tang will act as convener of the task force, while central bank governor Perng Fai-nan (
Other members of the task force will include Shea Jia-dong (許嘉棟), minister of finance; Lin Hsin-yi (林信義), minister of economic affairs; Chen Po-chih (陳博志), chairman of the the Council for Economic Planning and Development; Lin Chuan (林全), head of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Director; and Wei Chi-lin (魏啟林), secretary-general of the Cabinet.
By establishing the task force under the Executive Yuan, Tang seeks to demonstrate the new administration's resolve in reforming financial and economic policies.
"All members of the task force will start reviewing current finance and economic policy issues and make substantial proposals starting today," Tang was quoted as saying.
Analysts applauded the move, saying Cabinet unity is key to establishing sound economic policies.
"The task force should be able to make the new administration's financial and economic policies more consistent from now on," said Liu Kai-ping (
"Once the task force provides a formal channel for policy-coordination in the new administration, the [economic] situation is likely to improve, which is good news for securities investors."
But one government policy-watcher says regrouping the same old team without injecting new blood will do little to change the economic climate.
"Tang's measure is unlikely to improve the situation," said Norman Yin (殷乃平), a Chengchi University finance professor. "The same group of people will make exactly the same policy [decisions] as before. If they don't outsource [people], economic policy improvement will be hard to achieve."
Yin also questioned why the governor of the central bank will be leading the task force as executive secretary. As the head of the Central Bank of China, Perng in theory is supposed to remain independent of the administration, he said.
"What the new administration really needs is another Li Kwoh-ting (
Meanwhile, in regard to the recent media speculation that the Cabinet would be reshuffled, Tang stressed again yesterday that "there is no such plan," the spokesman said.
Tang is scheduled to participate in at two-day national finance meeting today and tomorrow.
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