When President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) returns from his overseas trip early next month, the first thing he has said he would do is establish the Economic Development Advisory Council (EDAC, 經發會) to make economic and financial policy. But economists yesterday raised questions over the functioning of such an advisory task force in addressing the country's economic ills.
"The council is more important symbolically than it is in economic terms," said Norman Yin (殷乃平), a professor of banking and finance at National Chengchi University.
Yin said that Chen intended to invite party representatives to the proposed council to resolve obstacles that have littered the ruling DPP's path in the legislature. Recent talk in political circles is that only with KMT attendance can the new body succeed.
Cooperation deemed essential
"If the KMT attends the council, it will certainly be easier for Chen to formulate economic solutions, have them pass smoothly through the legislature and be carried out by the Executive Yuan," DPP legislator Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) said.
On May 18, Chen said that he would invite party representatives, economics and finance scholars, industrialists and labor activists to take part in the council. He also expressed his hope that the KMT would allow former premier Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) to head the council.
Though Siew himself has urged the KMT to sit on the council, observers said that the party is not likely to attend the meeting to avoid the appearance that it shares responsibility for problems in implementing economic and financial policy.
"Opposition parties may give Chen their support, but I suspect that they will not attend [the council meeting] since they will have to jointly shoulder responsibility over the economic fallout of Chen's administration," said former New Party legislator Edward Chen (
Chen also said that the president intended to institute an American style council of economic advisors, but he said that US presidents only invite economic and financial experts, not individuals who bear political and electoral importance, to help him map out economic reforms.
"Chen should not take advantage of populism to address economic problems," the New Party's Chen added.
A presidential aide, however, told the Taipei Times that "the president aims to canvass various opinions [from society] and absorb all useful ideas through holding council meetings."
"It is also another way of expressing goodwill [to opposition parties] and to show that the president doesn't intend to abrogate all of his powers over economic and financial policy-making," he added.
As far as Siew's heading the council is concerned, both Yin and Hsu believed that Siew's past government experience wouldn't help solve the country's current economic problems.
"The industrial crisis and the rising unemployment rate occurred when Siew was still in the premier's office. At the time, he demonstrated little ability in providing economic solutions, though his Cabinet also put emphasis on economic and financial affairs," Yin said.
Hsu, therefore, suggested that Chen employ only independent economic and financial professionals to mastermind economic and financial policy and decide the direction of the country's economic development, just as the late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) did before.
Chiang formed an unofficial team of scholars to recruit the so-called "Six Financial Gurus (
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) also had his own economic advisors including Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英), currently president of the Taiwan Research Institute (台綜院), Wu Rong-i (吳榮義), president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research and Chen Po-chih (陳博志), head of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD, 經建會).
Hsu, however, added that it would be a great challenge for Chen to formulate economic policies since Taiwan was currently facing an economic downturn totally different from the one that Chiang encountered.
other opinions
sought
Both Edward Chen and Yin, however, said that Chen should authorize the CEPD to integrate opinions with other economic and financial bodies, saying that policy implementation was more important than holding economic meetings.
Head of the CEPD Chen Po-chih, nevertheless, gave his endorsement to the president's proposal last week. He said that recommendations that reached the council would further provide the administrative branches with alternatives to help carry out economic policy.
Chen, however, added that the council would not become a supervisory body to the executive branch and that the administration would have the final say as to whether advisors' proposals would become government economic policy.
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