Tue, Nov 19, 2002 page3

• Legislators confused by about-face

  UNANSWERED QUESTIONS The opposition wants the government to scrap the suspended reform while DPP lawmakers are asking what assistance will be provided

  • By Crystal Hsu / STAFF REPORTER
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  Though receptive to the Cabinet's decision to halt reform of the grassroots cooperatives, lawmakers across party lines yesterday urged the government to shed more light on its intentions over the matter.

  The KMT, which has opposed shutting down credit department of farmers' and fishermen's associations, pressed the DPP administration to "scrap" rather than "suspend" the planned reform.

  Bowing to pressure from the two groups, the Cabinet said Sunday night it would indefinitely suspend a three-tier risk-control mechanism over those credit departments with outstanding non-performing loans and make the Council of Agriculture, instead of the Ministry of Finance, the supervisory agency of those institutions.

  KMT legislative leader Lee Chuan-chia (李全教) said he suspected the policy turnaround is a gambit by the Cabinet to coax "hundreds of thousands" of farmers and fishermen to call off a mass protest scheduled for Saturday.

  Earlier, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said he would rather lose power than quit reforming the nation's financial system, a stance Premier Yu Shyi-kun has repeated to the legislature.

  "We demand the Cabinet scrap the risk-control measures altogether in a genuine show of goodwill," Lee told reporters in the KMT legislative caucus.

  "The suspension may prove to be a moratorium. Once the planned protest is disbanded, the government may make another reversal," Lee said.

  Over 100,000 farmers and fishermen nationwide have planned to stage a demonstration in Taipei this weekend to protest what they call the government's bid to wipe out the 304 farmer's and fishermen's associations.

  Created during Japanese colonial rule, the associations provide a wide range of services, both technical and financial, to the two groups whose income lags behind the national average by 30 percent.

  Lee also demanded an apology from the Cabinet for claiming the KMT has mobilized the protest in an attempt to protect the vested interests of its cronies in those organizations.

  "The planned protest is spontaneous, so we respect the right of the participants if they intend to go ahead with the demonstration," the KMT legislator said.

  KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and his PFP counterpart James Soong (宋楚瑜) have both agreed to take part in the protest, which also has the backing of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).

  KMT Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said his party is incapable of organizing such a massive rally now that it is no longer the ruling party.

  He said the Cabinet should make clear how long the suspension will last and what it plans to do with the remaining credit departments in the future.

  "A radical reform is unnecessary as many of them have improved their performance," Wang said.

  Last year alone, the credit departments of those associations incurred a loss of NT$12.4 billion, or NT$100 million every three days, official statistics show.

  As of the end of June this year, 21 percent of their loans lacked sufficient collateral, up from 8.6 percent in 1996.

  PFP legislative leader Shen Chih-hwei (沈智慧) said the way the DPP government handled the grassroots cooperatives demonstrated it was wishy-washy in major policy making.

  "Throughout the uproar, the government has never said unequivocally what its agriculture policy is," Shen said. "The suspension of the risk-control measures does not help to clear things up."

  Fellow PFP lawmaker Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said that his caucus would continue to support the protest.

  "By taking to the streets, the farmers want not only to defend their associations but also complain about their sliding standard of living," he said.

  DPP legislative whip Wang Tuoh (王拓) conceded strong resistance prompted the government to slam the brakes on the financial reform.

  While understanding the need for a milder approach, Wang said the government's commitment to reform remained unchanged.

  "I agree the Cabinet should soon come up with a timetable to resolve suspicions linked to the issue," he said.

  Instead of forcefully taking over debt-ridden cooperatives, the government now says it will offer them assistance without elaborating how.

  The TSU urged the protesters to cancel their demonstration, saying the Cabinet has learned of their wishes and made concessions accordingly.

  The party, which has allied itself with the farmers on the policy debate, said continued protests would only harm political stability at odds with the effort to revive the economy, TSU legislative leader Su Ying-kwei (蘇盈貴) said.

  Organizers said they will press ahead with the protest as scheduled.
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