On the second anniversary of her inauguration, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that while the two years had been somewhat bumpy, it was natural, since her administration has been pushing through a series of reforms to lay the foundation for a better future.
In a live-streamed half-hour interview with the online platform Watchout, Tsai said she would ensure that the reforms her administration has launched would be put into practice and said that the public would soon begin to see concrete results.
“We spent most of my first two years doing preparation … the next two years of my presidency, we will speed up the pace of these proposed reforms,” Tsai said.
Photo: CNA
Her administration has been preparing the legal frameworks to deal with many of the fundamental problems the nation is facing.
Its reforms include providing affordable housing, especially for low-income young people; raising salaries; reducing work hours; and boosting the low birth rate.
Her cross-strait policy of maintaining the “status quo” has not changed, and the government would neither act abruptly nor be stuck in a deadlock, she said.
It would neither return to the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) authoritarian era, when the two sides of the Taiwan Strait refused to interact with one another, nor would it submit to pressure, she said.
There might have been some change in cross-strait relations, but this was all the more reason to be determined to overcome difficulties, she said.
Maintaining the peaceful and stable “status quo” across the Strait is everyone’s responsibility, she said.
Asked by a netizen how her administration would counter Chinese infiltration, Tsai said she would strengthen societal safety measures and pay extra attention to whether “Chinese factors” would affect societal stability.
Turning to other topics, the president said marriage equality is a human rights issue and an indicator of social progress.
After the Council of Grand Justices issued a constitutional interpretation affirming the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, the administration has reached a constitutional basis for marriage equality, so it has to amend the law to guarantee the freedom to marry according to the grand justices’ interpretation, she said.
Government agencies would definitely propose a plan for review by lawmakers, she added.
The government recently gave public servants a 3 percent raise and is encouraging private-sector companies to boost salaries, and even pressuring them by threatening to name and shame listed firms that pay low wages.
The government has said that Taiwan has shaken off the 16 years of wage stagnation that began in 2000 and it is starting to see an increase in overall earnings.
However, sentiment among average wage earners has been low, because of low wages, the rising cost of living and high housing prices.
The government has said it would put 200,000 social housing units on the market over an eight-year period at concessionary rates to address housing issues.
As of Feb. 1, its social housing initiative has put almost 10,000 units on the market, the Construction and Planning Agency has said.
Figures released on Saturday showed that fewer babies were born in Taiwan last year than in any year in the past four decades, with the exceptions of 2009 and 2010. The population growth last year was also the lowest in the nation’s history.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old