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Premier Yu urges quick passage of reform legislation

Premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday that a delay in passage of new laws and amendments would hinder reforms in various fields and eventually undermine the nation's overall competitiveness.

Yu noted in an interview that the Cabinet has sent to the Legislative Yuan a basket of reform bills for deliberation, including three statutes concerning government restructuring and six "sunshine bills" aimed at establishing clean politics.

"The enactment of these bills is necessary for launching sweeping domestic reforms, upgrading national competitiveness and attracting foreign investment," Yu said.

If these bills fail to clear legislature, he said, the government will not be able to carry out many badly needed reform programs, and multinational business groups will become more hesitant about launching investment projects in Taiwan.

Noting that national competition is different from corporate competition, Yu said national competition involves competition on many fronts, including university education, government efficiency and manpower quality.

"And there is still ample room for Taiwan to upgrade its national strength and competitiveness," he said.

Citing government restructuring as an example, Yu said the US government has only 13 departments, Japan has cut the number of its central government departments from 20 to 12, while the Chinese government has also reduced the number of its ministries from 35 to 20.

In contrast, Yu pointed out, this country still has 36 ministries and commissions.

Cutting red tape

He said a bloated bureaucracy often hinders interministerial coordination and can even blunt administrative efficiency.

"The Cabinet has drafted three bills that will downsize the hierarchy and cut red tape," he said.

"I'm hopeful that these bills can be passed into law during the current legislative session to let the restructuring work kick off smoothly," he said.

Yu also stressed the importance of financial reform.

"If banking reforms cannot succeed, many local banks will continue being gripped by huge bad loans. Should that be the case, foreign companies will be reluctant to invest in Taiwan, " he said.

"So long as we can succeed in banking reform, we'll be able to create many new business opportunities and further expand our niches in the world financial market," he said.

Yu said the Cabinet has drafted a five-year, NT$500 billion stimulus plan aimed at speeding up infrastructure construction, boosting balanced regional development and upgrading the quality of life.

"A special bill on this ambitious plan will be referred to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation before the end of this month," Yu said, adding that he hopes the legislature can approve the special bill as soon as possible.

As for the proposal to allow Taiwanese-financed companies in China to list their stocks on the local bourse, Yu said the government must work out a comprehensive package of complementary measures before such an idea can be put into force.

"As the proposal involves some critical problems, we must exercise prudence in tackling it," Yu said, citing the difficulty monitoring such companies' finances as a reason.

Capital flow

Another problem would be how to get these companies to remit their China-generated profits back to Taiwan, Yu said, adding that a cross-strait capital flow mechanism must be forged before such a proposal can be implemented.

He said the Cabinet will continue to push for more convenient cross-strait cargo transportation, including the opening of indirect cargo charter flights.

Despite Beijing's reluctance to resume dialogue with Taipei, Yu said the government will not be daunted and will make continued efforts to maintain cross-strait peace and boost civilian exchanges.

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