Taiwan must continue to push for reforms as it faces cut-throat competition because of globalization, the Chinese market and the historic burden left behind from previous administrations, Premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday morning.
"Although reforms bring criticism and uncertainty, we're determined to continue down the path to help the country cope with globalization and upgrade the nation's competitiveness," Yu said.
Yu made the remark during the orientation ceremony of the national development study program and the women's leadership development program.
The event was organized by the Cabinet's Central Personnel Administration at the Civil Servant Development Center.
The two eight-week programs -- initiated by Yu after he took office in February this year -- aim to cultivate high-ranking policy-making talents for the government.
About 200 government officials, industrial leaders, academics and NGO members attended the ceremony yesterday.
"Like Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, only the fittest survives in the era of globalization," Yu said. "Taiwan has to respond to globalization and bring out its best features to compete with other countries around the world."
While Taiwan used to focus on agricultural and traditional industries, Yu said that it is time to upgrade the technological skills of those industries and focus on the development of creativity and knowledge-based industries.
Taiwan must also respond to the "magnetic effect" of China's market, Yu said.
"The hand-over of Hong Kong to China is a perfect example that the opening of direct transportation with China is not a cure-all for a nation's economy," Yu said, noting that the jobless rate in Hong Kong has skyrocketed to 7.4 percent since the hand-over in 1997.
Talking about the historic burden left behind by the previous administrations, Yu said that he was not targeting any particular person or party but instead he was simply stating a fact.
"Obviously, the nation's many problems did not happen two years ago when the DPP came to power," Yu said.
Take financial problems for example, Yu said, the government now has to earmark NT$1.05 trillion to the financial reconstruction fund to take care of the nation's financial problems.
"Our goal is to see the non-performing loans (NPL) ratio reduced to 5 percent and the capital-adequacy ratio raised to 8 percent within two years," he said.
The Executive Yuan on Oct. 9 approved the draft amendments to the statute regarding the establishment and management of the financial reconstruction fund (行政院金融重建基金設置及管理條例) which would raise the fund to NT$1.05 trillion.
The fund would be used to drive the nation's financial institutions with high NPL ratios -- or other financial problems such as poor operation -- out of the market.
The fund would also be used to accelerate the merger of financial institutions and help boost economic development.
The government has planned to use NT$600 billion of the fund to buy up the nation's non-performing loans, and NT$450 billion to restructure the ill-fated credit units of farmers' and fishermen's associations.
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