With the one-year anniversary of her presidency around the corner, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is gearing up to meet with representatives from various government agencies to evaluate the progress of her reform plans and major policies.
According to a high-level Presidential Office official speaking on condition of anonymity, Tsai has been closely watching the execution of her policies and plans to make the results public before May 20 to raise awareness of the government’s efforts.
She is giving particular attention to the “new southbound policy” and an economy-boosting program to develop the “five plus two” industries, which includes an “Asian Silicon Valley,” “intelligent” machinery, “green” energy technology, biomedicine and national defense, plus the establishment of a new agricultural paradigm and a circular economy, the official said.
The government’s ongoing campaign against drugs is another major focus of Tsai’s, the official said, adding that both the president and Premier Lin Chuan (林全) have heard reports about progress on the issue and have instructed government agencies to make changes.
As for the administration’s reform plans, pension reform is in the “wrapping-up phase” as the proposals for public servants, public-school teachers and private-sector workers are to be deliberated in the legislature.
The official said the government’s bottom line is to see relevant draft amendments clear the legislative floor during the current legislative session.
In the meantime, Lin has been briefed on the latest developments in the government’s plans to build more social housing, promote urban renewal projects and establish a more comprehensive long-term care program, with results to be publicized soon by the Executive Yuan, the official said.
The official said that the Ministry of the Interior has projected that a total of 88,000 social housing units could be provided by 2020, which is 8,000 units more than the initial plan.
A plenary Cabinet meeting has been organized for Thursday to discuss two elements of the “five plus two” industries program: the development of an Asian Silicon Valley and “green” energy technology.
During the meeting, the National Development Council is to deliver a more concrete plan for the Asian Silicon Valley project that is expected to focus on six aspects, the official said.
The first aspect is mobile and digital life, which seeks to facilitate mobile wallet technology for most areas of daily life through intergovernmental integration efforts, while the second focuses on applications of artificial intelligence, aimed at developing robot-based voice service and financial management.
Other aspects include Internet information security, self-driving vehicles, applications of virtual reality and augmented reality technologies, and information sharing with Asian nations.
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