Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) arrived back in Taiwan yesterday evening following his visit to Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the Caribbean, assuring the public that his administration has done everything it can to maintain national security and economic stability during the emergency in the US.
"Taiwan cannot distance itself from what the US has been suffering. I would like, however, to urge the public to be calm and united in order to make it through the crisis," Chang said at CKS International Airport, reiterating that he had kept close contact with Taipei to deal with any likely impact on Taiwan while he was stranded in Hawaii.
Chang also told reporters, "It's good to be home finally."
PHOTO: TONY K. YAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Due to the US Federal Aviation Authority's ban on all commercial flights in US airspace, Chang had been stranded in Hawaii for two days. Yesterday, he and the Cabinet delegation departed Honolulu on the first flight to take off once the ban was lifted.
Chang expressed his thanks to the US for its assistance in facilitating his return trip, acknowledging that his flight had been given preferential treatment. Moreover, Chang and other Cabinet members in the delegation, including Minister of Transportation and Communication Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), Chairwoman of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission Chang Fu-mei (張富美) and Chairman of the Council of Agriculture Chen Hsi-huang (陳希煌) yesterday were allowed to board the plane without undergoing security inspections.
On his flight back to Taiwan, Chang made a one-hour transit stop in Tokyo, where he received a warm welcome from several Japanese parliamentarians, chairman of the Interchange Association in Japan and Taiwan's representative to Japan Lo Fu-chen (羅福全).
Meanwhile, in Taipei, the Executive Yuan yesterday approved several bills to help implement economic proposals reached at the Economic Development Advisory Conference (
Draft revisions were made to the Company Law, relaxing restrictions on company loans and distribution of bonuses to employees. The Labor Standards Law was also revised to allow flexible work hours and a maximum working day of 12 hours, and to address the issue of women working late at night.
At yesterday's Cabinet meeting, the Land Tax Law was approved to facilitate implementation of the Cabinet's proposal to cut the tax in half for two years in an effort to stimulate the real estate market.
To express his determination to implement the economic proposals as soon as possible, President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen instructed that the legislation required to put the economic proposals into effect should be put forward as soon as possible and that the government's administrative effectiveness and the progress of public construction should also be improved in order to address the country's economic concerns.
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