Premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday that the government will adopt open recruitment procedures for chairperson of the board positions at state-owned enterprises (SOEs), beginning with the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Board (
During the two years that the DPP has been in power it has replaced the chairpersons at a number of state-owned companies, including Chinese Petroleum (
The Taipower post went to Lin Wen-yuan (
How effective -- and suitable -- these people are in their appointed positions will be demonstrated by the performance of the companies. However, the appointments themselves were clearly political rewards. No wonder the opposition has criticized the appointments as the "greening" of state companies with only politics -- not professionalism -- in mind. Of course, when the KMT did the same thing no one seemed to mind too much.
Nevertheless, it's not too late for the government to start thinking about finding future candidates for such jobs from the private sector. Putting professional management on the boards of SOEs should be a priority. With the economy beginning to recover after two years of doldrums, good management and leadership are essential to revitalizing company operations. Many multinationals are preparing to enter the Taiwan market now that the nation is a member of the WTO. State-run companies will no longer enjoy special protection; they will have to become competitive or fail.
Professionalized operations are only one step in the reform of SOEs. The most fundamental reform is privatization. The government started the privatization process, but then put it on hold because of the recession and worries about the impact of share sales on the capital and stock markets. Given the low share prices of many of these enterprises, the government also didn't want to take a bath by selling so cheaply. Professional managers will be able to focus on building an environment conducive to privatization.
Sun Yat-sen's (
The government should understand that it cannot be both a player and a referee in a globalized economy. Its role should be limited to the maintenance of the business environment. It is time that Taiwan's government let politics be politics and business be business.
In an article published in Newsweek on Monday last week, President William Lai (賴清德) challenged China to retake territories it lost to Russia in the 19th century rather than invade Taiwan. “If it is really for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t China take back Russia?” Lai asked, referring to territories lost in 1858 and 1860. The territories once made up the two flanks of northern Manchuria. Once ceded to Russia, they became part of the Russian far east. Claims since then have been made that China and Russia settled the disputes in the 1990s through the 2000s and that “China
Trips to the Kenting Peninsula in Pingtung County have dredged up a lot of public debate and furor, with many complaints about how expensive and unreasonable lodging is. Some people even call it a tourist “butchering ground.” Many local business owners stake claims to beach areas by setting up parasols and driving away people who do not rent them. The managing authority for the area — Kenting National Park — has long ignored the issue. Ultimately, this has affected the willingness of domestic travelers to go there, causing tourist numbers to plummet. In 2008, Taiwan opened the door to Chinese tourists and in
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) arrest is a significant development. He could have become president or vice president on a shared TPP-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) ticket and could have stood again in 2028. If he is found guilty, there would be little chance of that, but what of his party? What about the third force in Taiwanese politics? What does this mean for the disenfranchised young people who he attracted, and what does it mean for his ambitious and ideologically fickle right-hand man, TPP caucus leader Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌)? Ko and Huang have been appealing to that
On Tuesday, President William Lai (賴清德) met with a delegation from the Hoover Institution, a think tank based at Stanford University in California, to discuss strengthening US-Taiwan relations and enhancing peace and stability in the region. The delegation was led by James Ellis Jr, co-chair of the institution’s Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region project and former commander of the US Strategic Command. It also included former Australian minister for foreign affairs Marise Payne, influential US academics and other former policymakers. Think tank diplomacy is an important component of Taiwan’s efforts to maintain high-level dialogue with other nations with which it does
RSS