Premier Yu Shyi-kun seemed to draw inspiration from a speech made by a local publisher after a weekly closed-door Cabinet meeting.
After the meeting he said that Taiwan should continue down its path of reforms and carefully handle the problems caused by the Chinese market, thereby responding to the radical changes of the global, political and economic climate.
"Reform is the one and only way to move forward in the face of domestic and global challenges," Cabinet Spokesman Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢) quoted Premier Yu Shyi-kun as saying yesterday. "I'm afraid if we do not move on this now, it will be too late and we will regret the consequences of inaction."
The Chinese market might have a more adverse than positive impact on Taiwan if the government fails to carefully formulate cross-strait policies.
"It's a two-edged sword: although the Chinese market has a lot of potential, it also brings unprecedented challenges," Yu said. "As we aggressively push for the opening of direct cross-strait transportation, we should take care not lose our competitive edge."
Yu made the remark in response to the speech entitled "Taiwan's Economic Strategies in a New Century" delivered by Hsieh Chin-ho (
Hsieh was invited to speak at the Presidential Office on Tuesday as part of the celebration events marking the 136th birthday of the nation's founding father, Sun Yat-sen (
In addition to pointing out the challenges faced by the nation, Hsieh offered advice on how to tackle with them. According to Hsieh, many domestic and international factors have contributed to the challenges faced by Taiwan today.
What the government could do, Hsieh said, is to depreciate NT dollars to attract foreign investments.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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