Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday apologized for putting unnecessary pressure on his subordinates because of a promise he made six months ago to reduce crime rates.
"I am sorry that I might have made too many promises. Therefore, I apologize to my fellow Cabinet members," Su said.
Su's comments were made in reference to his promise on March 15 that he would resign and withdraw from politics for good if the crime rate does not drop within six months.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
The premier said that he felt he had put too much emphasis on this issue. As a result, his fellow Cabinet members' accomplishments could now be called into question, because people might think that these officials were merely trying to help the premier stay in office. Also, Su said, people might think the improvement in crime statistics had been exaggerated or were fake.
"I admit that I did not think this through before I gave my word six months ago," Su said.
The premier held a press conference at the Executive Yuan yesterday morning to "report to the public" regarding the Cabinet's efforts to keep the premier's promise. Su said that overall, public order was improved, but that he was not yet satisfied.
"The figures say it all," Su said.
The premier sought to pre-empt possible criticism of his Cabinet members and took advantage of the drop in the rate of car and scooter theft to explain why he would believe it is impossible to fake the figures.
"Usually, most people report to the police immediately when their vehicle is stolen, because of fears that their stolen vehicle may be used to commit a crime," Su said. "Whenever there is a report of a stolen vehicle, the police must file a report. The reports do not lie."
The Cabinet offered a number of statistics to show how much public order was improved.
Between March 15 and Sept. 10 this year, 253,523 criminal cases were reported, while there were 281,603 cases during the same period last year. Among the 253,523 cases this year, 67.53 percent of them had been closed, while only 63.37 percent of last year's cases were closed.
For fraud, 21,495 cases were reported between March 15 and Sept. 10 this year, and 61.1 percent of them were closed, while 23,745 fraud cases were reported last year, but only 54.22 percent of them were closed.
For illegal racing on both scooters and cars, 2,338 cases were reported during this period last year, but only 1,222 illegal racing cases have been reported this year.
"We have figured out a new approach for accelerating the process of getting crime rates to drop, and we will continue to use it," Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (
Lee said that generally, economic issues were at the heart of much criminal activity, and as a result continuous economic growth will be the best method for deterring crime.
In addition, certain crimes, such as theft, depend on "demand" (a market for stolen items) and "supply," Lee said. As long as law enforcement officers continue to decrease the demand, thieves will not be able to sell the items they steal, and the rate of theft will drop, Lee said.
"This is something we will continue to do," Lee said.
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
RSS