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Lu concedes room for improvement in finance reform plan

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday that the direction of the government's financial reforms is correct, though she admitted there might be flaws in their implementation so far.

Lu said the second phase of financial reforms now under way is part of the government's efforts to narrow the disparity in wealth and promote economic justice, adding that the government would make sure that the financial system was not monopolized by business conglomerates.

She was speaking at the opening of Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing's (楊秋興) re-election campaign headquarters.

The second phase of financial reform involves the privatization of state-owned banks and mergers between banks, with a goal to halving the number of state-owned banks to six by the end of this year and having at least three domestic banks increase their market shares to more than 10 percent.

Opposition lawmakers have accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government of favoring certain pro-DPP business conglomerates in the privatization process.

Meanwhile, participants attending a high-ranking meeting at the Presidential Office said the Executive Yuan should seize every opportunity to explain in detail the issues related to the government's ongoing financial reforms.

The Presidential Office on Friday invited Executive Yuan Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), DPP Policy Committee executive director Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) and DPP Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) to participate in the meeting.

The participants said that opposition parties continued to criticize the second phase of financial reforms, which made the task even more of a challenge.

The Executive Yuan, the DPP and the DPP legislative caucus should step up their defense and debate of the issue, they said.

Referring to the barrage of media criticism of the scandals afflicting the Taiwan high-speed railway and Kaohsiung MRT projects, the participants also claimed that there were "gaps between the reports and the truth," and said that there was a need for the government to step up the promotion of its policies.

The participants cited the example of reports about China Steel Corp (CSC) chairman Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵) receiving an annual bonus of around NT$44 million (US$1.32 million), which they said had cast the government in a bad light.

Lin represents the government in the CSC, which has been privatized, but the government still has a stake in the firm.

The Executive Yuan should also address the questions posed by Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) about retired government officials serving in lucrative posts at government-backed foundations, the participants added.
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