The furor over farmers' and fishermen's credit coop-eratives is set to become the first controversy in the new legislative session, which opens today. Repre-sentatives from those cooperatives are coming to Taipei to protest the government's plans to tackle the cooperatives' mounting bad-loan problems. The DPP is taking a tough stance on its reform plans for the debt-laden cooperatives, saying there won't be a grace period for the institutions. Pan-blue leaders, of course, are voicing opposition to the government's proposals and have announced their own plans to amend six major financial laws. However, even former president Lee Teng-hui (
The farmers' and fishermen's cooperatives' non-performing loan ratios have long been a time bomb ticking away under Taiwan's financial institutions. We got a glimpse of the problem during the 1995 scandal at a farmers' cooperative in Chungli City. The KMT government made a lot of noise but didn't really try to tackle the matter back then. That the coop-eratives' financial losses have continued to mount should come as no surprise, given the gloomy economic environment and increasing competition that have already forced several banks and financial institutions to merge.
The traditional cooperatives are fighting to survive. It is time the government took concrete steps to deal with the problems of these grassroots financial institutions, whose losses will continue to snowball if not addressed. It is a question of when, not if, they will implode. The Central Deposit Insurance Corp's (
For decades, local political factions have been deeply involved in many of the farmers' cooperatives, turning them into key segments of the political food chain. That many politicians raised funds through the cooperatives is a not-so-secret secret. The financial difficulties the cooperatives now find themselves in are due in part to interference by local politicians. The longer this problem is left unresolved because of fear of alienating political factions, the more difficult it will be to deal with.
That said, the problems at farmers' cooperatives -- or the fishermen's -- are not simply financial. The cooperatives promote agriculture and fisheries and offer training programs, cultural activities and welfare services. They also help promote government policies. If the government only uses financial methods to reform the cooperatives and ignores the impact of the reforms in other areas, it may simply end up creating a host of new problems. After all, farmers and fishermen are a disadvantaged group and both sectors have seen fundamental changes since the country entered the WTO.
Nevertheless, the industry must overhaul its structures and operations and handle everything professionally. The Ministry of Finance plans to merge the farmers' cooperatives with the Farmers Bank of China (
Reform is urgently needed. If vested political interests are allowed to continue to block the overhaul of the farmers' and fishermen's cooperatives, both society and the economy will pay the price.
Taiwan faces complex challenges like other Asia-Pacific nations, including demographic decline, income inequality and climate change. In fact, its challenges might be even more pressing. The nation struggles with rising income inequality, declining birthrates and soaring housing costs while simultaneously navigating intensifying global competition among major powers. To remain competitive in the global talent market, Taiwan has been working to create a more welcoming environment and legal framework for foreign professionals. One of the most significant steps in this direction was the enactment of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) in 2018. Subsequent amendments in
After nine days of holidays for the Lunar New Year, government agencies and companies are to reopen for operations today, including the Legislative Yuan. Many civic groups are expected to submit their recall petitions this week, aimed at removing many Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers from their seats. Since December last year, the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) passed three controversial bills to paralyze the Constitutional Court, alter budgetary allocations and make recalling elected officials more difficult by raising the threshold. The amendments aroused public concern and discontent, sparking calls to recall KMT legislators. After KMT and TPP legislators again
US President Donald Trump on Saturday signed orders to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China effective from today. Trump decided to slap 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as well as 10 percent on those coming from China, but would only impose a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy products, including oil and electricity. Canada and Mexico on Sunday quickly responded with retaliatory tariffs against the US, while countermeasures from China are expected soon. Nevertheless, Trump announced yesterday to delay tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month and said he would hold further talks with
Taiwan’s undersea cables connecting it to the world were allegedly severed several times by a Chinese ship registered under a flag of convenience. As the vessel sailed, it used several different automatic identification systems (AIS) to create fake routes. That type of “shadow fleet” and “gray zone” tactics could create a security crisis in Taiwan and warrants response measures. The concept of a shadow fleet originates from the research of Elisabeth Braw, senior fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council. The phenomenon was initiated by authoritarian countries such as Iran, North Korea and Russia, which have been hit by international economic