Tue, Dec 09, 2014 page1

• Premier seeks ‘to understand public’

  PUTTING PARTY FIRST? DPP lawmakers criticized Mao for visiting the KMT caucus right after being sworn in, saying the move shows his priorities are with his party

  • By Loa Iok-sin / Staff reporter, with CNA
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  Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) yesterday said that his Cabinet will seek to understand the public’s needs with humility and strive to improve communication with the public.

  Mao, who served as vice premier in the previous Cabinet, said the challenges he faces in his new position far exceed the scale of any crisis he has dealt with before.

  “However, with my engineering background, I do not have the right to run away from the difficulties I face,” Mao said, adding that he always manages to find the best solution to any problem he encounters.

  

  Premier Mao Chi-kuo, front right, yesterday visits Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, front left, at the legislature. The two men met for almost an hour.

  Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

  By building on the work of former premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and the members of Jiang’s Cabinet, Mao said he hopes to understand the public’s needs, adopt a more humble attitude and to have more effective communication.

  The new Cabinet must pay attention to the demands of Internet users and take effective action to help young people fulfill their dreams, Mao said.

  Jiang, who resigned on Nov. 29 to take responsibility for the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) heavy losses in the nine-in-one elections, said he will leave behind the passion of politics and resume a free and ordinary life.

  

  Vice President Wu Den-yih, center, yesterday officiates at a handing-over ceremony at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei between outgoing premier Jiang Yi-huah, left, and his successor Mao Chi-kuo, right.

  Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times

  While some of his government’s missions were accomplished, there was “some distance” to go to achieve the goal he set for his administration when he became premier 22 months ago: to build “a rich and polite democracy,” Jiang said, in an apparent reference to the government’s low approval ratings.

  After the swearing-in and handover ceremonies, Mao visited the KMT caucus and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).

  Wang said he told Mao to formulate well-considered policies that take into account the opinions of lawmakers and the public.

  

  Democratic Progressive Party legislators Huang Wei-cher, left, and Tsai Chi-chang yesterday hold a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to call on Premier Mao Chi-kuo to prioritize tackling high prices, low salaries and high unemployment.

  Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

  Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus criticized Mao visiting to the KMT caucus before for visiting Wang, asking if he considers the party more important than the legislature.

  “Apparently, Mao considers the will of the party to be his priority, as he chose to pay a visit to the KMT caucus immediately after he was sworn in, prior to visiting the legislative speaker,” DPP Legislator Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) told a news conference.

  “If Mao chooses to listen to his party, not the public, we will give him a hard time during the question-and-answer session on Friday,” Huang said.

  DPP caucus whip Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said he had yet to receive word that Mao is planning to meet with the DPP caucus.

  The DPP caucus also called on Mao to focus on solving the major issues affecting Taiwanese: inflation, stagnant incomes and high unemployment.

  “Compared with 2011, average consumer prices went up 2.74 percent last year. If we break it down, food has gone up by 5.48 percent and fuel prices have increased by 12.6 percent,” Tsai said.

  Of the 8.7 million people with jobs, the average monthly income is NT$35,986, but 43 percent make between NT$30,000 and NT$50,000, while as many as 40 percent make less than NT$30,000, Tsai said.

  “This is about the same amount of money people were making 15 years ago,” he said.

  “The unemployment rate this year has been 3.95 percent, with about 457,000 people without jobs. The unemployment rate is higher than the 3.5 percent in South Korea, 3.6 percent in Japan and 3.3 percent in Hong Kong,” Tsai said.

  These three problems were the result of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) lack of leadership over the past six years, the lawmaker said.

  “These should be the first problems that the Cabinet solves, otherwise the political tsunami will continue to hit and the public’s anger will not abate,” the DPP whip said.
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