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 (
"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 (
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 (
"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 (
"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 (
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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as