President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday pledged to launch more reforms during his second term in office and called for everyone to work together to transform the nation in the face of new challenges.
In his first weekly online speech following the Lunar New Year holiday, Ma said the new Cabinet would start to tackle key social, political and economic issues after it is sworn in tomorrow.
“There are many problems that require us to be more resolute in our promotion of reform. We will strive to adopt policies that prevent deep social divisions and allow the people to feel the existence of social justice,” he said.
Ma on Tuesday appointed Vice Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) to take over as premier, and the new Cabinet, will assume office tomorrow.
Priority issues to be addressed by the Cabinet include the nation’s economic performance amid the eurozone debt crisis, tax reform and US beef imports.
Ma also promised to continue working to promote cross-strait peace while seeking to expand the country’s international space.
Ma said the public expected more reforms from the government and promised to bear in mind public expectations.
In his second and final term, Ma said he would meet with opposition party leaders to exchange ideas on major policies on a regular basis, and meet with civic groups every month to discuss issues of concern.
“I will listen to what the people have to say and seek to understand their needs. I will lead the new Cabinet to ensure stability is maintained and the economy revived,” he said.
Ma has been meeting with new Cabinet members this week to discuss major policies.
Presidential Office Spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said the president’s meetings with Cabinet officials would last until this week.
The discussions on major policy proposals will hopefully enhance communications between the Presidential Office and the Cabinet and facilitate the smooth implementation of policies under the new Cabinet, he said.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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