Premier Yu Shyi-kun and Cabinet officials experienced a rough ride in the legislature yesterday as opposition lawmakers and civic groups waged rowdy protests inside and outside the body to mark the opening of the new legislative session.
Echoing President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) commitment to reform, Yu vowed to overhaul the nation's financial system after taking the podium to outline his policy goals after a 90-minute delay.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
At the heart of the latest policy debate is the destiny of 285 debt-ridden credit departments of the farmers' and fishermen's associations. Recently, the Ministry of Finance proposed having them taken over by domestic commercial banks in an attempt to rein in the country's non-performing loans.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
But critics, most notably former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), have warned against the measure, saying it will inevitably compromise the welfare of the farmers and fishermen.
"The government has no intention to wipe out the farmers' and fishermen's associations," the premier told the body at 11:30am. "By the planned reform, we hope to better safeguard the interests of the two groups."
The credit departments of those associations incurred a loss of NT$12.4 billion last year alone, or NT$100 million every three days, Yu said.
There are 304 farmers' associations and 40 fishermen's associations nationwide that provide a wide range of services, technological and financial, for the two groups.
The premier acknowledged those associations played a key role in upgrading the two sectors but that over the years, improper political influence and a lack of professional management have rendered them prone to corruption.
As of the end of June this year, those associations register a ratio of 21 percent in non-performing loans, up from 8.6 percent in 1996, official statistics show.
"It is time we reassess the need for the credit departments in those associations, as we have more than enough financial institutions already," Yu said.
Under the reform plan, the Cabinet intends to force the bad ones out of the market and help the good ones transform into bona fide financial institutions, he said.
Leaders from those associations have frowned on the planned reform and have won sympathy with the main opposition KMT and the TSU, normally the ally of the ruling DPP.
Earlier in the day, some 40 KMT lawmakers staged a sit-in on the legislative floor and chanted slogans to disrupt Yu's speech.
To maintain order, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Meanwhile, hundreds of repre-sentatives from farmers' and fishermen's associations across the country gathered outside the legislative chamber, asking Minister of Finance Lee Yung-san (李庸三) to step down.
The protest marked only one of several petitions that took place in the legislature yesterday. Shortly after the lawmaking body commenced the fall session at 9am, legislators from the KMT and the PFP took turns panning the Chen administration for hiking the national health insurance fees.
Health officials have said that the hikes, which took effect Sept 1, are necessary to keep the national health insurance program afloat.
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