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Premier hopes to make the time to see more of Taiwan

Premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday that he expects to make extensive visits around the nation and will seek better coordination between the central and local governments.

Attending the first coordination meeting between the central and local governments, Yu said that he has spent a lot of time at the Legislative Yuan since assuming the premiership Feb. 1.

Yu said that since he is required to show up at the legislature twice each week, he has been unable to make many local visits to counties and cities outside of Taipei. Still, he managed to visit five city and county governments in the past few months, he said.

According to Yu, transforming from a centrally commanded system of government to a partnership system is a long process and that a major task of the government's reorganization is to classify the functions of the central and local governments.

Yu said that the administration faces three major challenges -- global competition, self-

orientation in terms of relations with China, and political as well as financial issues at home.

Since Taiwan has become a member of the WTO, and is facing increasing international competition, it is important to improve international competitiveness, the premier said.

He continued that China, as a rising economic giant, will attract investors from around the globe. Taiwan needs to find ways to promote cooperation between manufacturing industries on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, he said.

Yu said that the bad loan problem facing many local banks and involving over NT$2 trillion should be handled as soon as possible. Another urgent task is to balance the budget of the central government. The budget deficit is estimated to have reached NT$5 trillion.

He said the development of the tourism industry would be one way to boost the economies of cities and counties, noting that the number of international tourist arrivals last year was less than 1 million.
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