The Cabinet, which had been led by Premier Vincent Siew
"It is time to pack up the past and hand over the heavy burden to the new Cabinet," Siew told outgoing Cabinet members at their 141st and final meeting.
In his speech, Siew thanked his colleagues for their "sacrifices, contributions and distinguished achievements."
PHOTO: REUTERS
He paid particular tribute to the late Central Bank president, Sheu Yuan-dung (許遠東), who died in a plane crash near CKS airport in 1998, and the late Minister of Education Lin Ching-chiang (林清江), who died of a brain tumor last December.
Siew also said that the peaceful transfer of power was unprecedented in Taiwan's history.
"Although there were no guidelines to follow, and there were some misunderstandings during the process, in general everything has gone smoothly," Siew said.
The incoming administration had complained more than once during the interim period that Siew's Cabinet did not cooperate in the handover of governmental affairs.
The weekly Cabinet meeting -- which usually lasts for up to two hours -- concluded after just 40 minutes yesterday. And rather than discuss administrative matters, the group passed around a collective resignation document and, each in turn, used their chop to stamp the paper.
Premier-designate Tang Fei (唐飛) -- also the outgoing Minister of National Defense -- did not attend the meeting as he is still recovering from surgery he underwent last month. However, he was represented by his deputy, who stamped the resignation document.
Siew told the group that their proudest achievement had been Taiwan's weathering of the Asian financial crisis.
He also expressed regret at how the Cabinet was treated for its handling of 921 earthquake reconstruction work.
The government has been widely criticized for inefficiency in dealing with post-quake reconstruction work and in taking care of those made homeless by the quake.
On Tuesday the Control Yuan passed a motion censuring the Executive Yuan, indicating that there had been many failures in its post-quake reconstruction work.
Siew had dubbed his administration an "action Cabinet" (
One analyst said that Siew's Cabinet had suffered from both inherent problems and, in some cases, bad luck.
"Things have not gone very smoothly from the beginning -- encountering, for example, both the financial crisis and the earthquake," said Chiu Hei-yuan (瞿海源), an Academia Sinica sociologist.
"The challenges of post-quake reconstruction were inherently difficult and [the country] had no such experience [to draw from]. The government had a lot of problems with coordination and communication among different units," Chiu said.
Chiu also said the Cabinet lineup had not been ideal from the start -- some ministerial posts were simply given to the wrong people. This was a factor which determined the Cabinet's fate.
Chiu said its performance had, to a large extent, caused the KMT's defeat in the election.
"However, [Siew's Cabinet] has made some positive contributions toward the nation's prosperity, and that should not be overlooked." Chiu said.
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