Opposition lawmakers urged Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday to redeem himself by applying himself fully to his job after he agreed to remain at his post on the urging of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
KMT whip at the Legislative Yuan Lee Chuan-chiao (
Lee Chuan-chiao lauded the finance minister, whose policy triggered the demonstration of fishermen and farmers on Saturday, as a finance expert and credited Fan for calming down the protesters, which lead to Saturday's demonstration ending peacefully.
Although the premier was retained, Lee Chuan-chiao said, he is now no more than a caretaker or a lame duck.
Even as a caretaker, Yu should not sit idly on his hands, as long as he is still the head of the Cabinet, Lee said, adding he could make up for his mistakes in the botched financial reform plan by driving down the unemployment rate and improving social order; otherwise, the KMT will ask him to leave.
Another KMT lawmaker, Mu Ming-chu (穆閩珠), said the repeated shakeups of the Cabinet formed by the DPP will inevitably damage the government's credibility and efficiency.
Citing the government's statistics, Mu said 28 Cabinet agencies have a leadership change twice, and 10 have seen their chiefs replaced three times in the last two years after the DPP took power.
Meanwhile, a KMT official unveiled his party's eight-point proposal to sort out the problems surrounding the grassroots banks.
Tzeng Yung-chuan (曾永權), executive director of the KMT Central Policy Coordinating Commission, said his party is calling for the reinstatement of the 36 grassroots banks taken over by commercial banks last year after they had accumulated more bad loans than their assets.
The KMT's proposal also calls for full acceptance by the government of the demands made by the farmers and fishermen.
The KMT's decision not to call for Yu's removal is in sync with public opinion as shown on polls commissioned by the party after Saturday's demonstration.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
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Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's