President Chen Shui-bian (
The DPP chairman stated at the party's administrative reform seminar that policy change is necessary if people are to feel the DPP is different from its predecessor.
The DPP's two-day seminar, which focuses on national security, internal affairs, economy, education, social welfare and public construction, began yesterday with the president's keynote address. Participants include top government officials and DPP leaders.
PHOTO: LIAO RAY-SHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
In the opening ceremony, the president stressed his resolve to reform, saying the party has never shirked its responsibility because it is the major duty mandated by the people and a historic mission bestowed upon the party.
Citing the example on how the Executive Yuan lowered the interest rate on student loans this week, Chen said the government can win the public's support by paying more attention to how policy changes are implemented.
He said the price to be paid for reform is criticism, denunciation and resistance. But despite these challenges, Chen said, the government must stand for its beliefs.
According to Chen, administrators should examine themselves when opinions differ to avoid provoking public resentment.
The president told officials at the seminar that they should be equipped with confidence and resolve on reform and that thorough preparations and planning are equally important.
"We need to avoid failing public expectations due to flaws in execution," he said.
The task of reform is complicated and will come with challenges, the president said.
"The work of reform is like a marathon race. Participants who wish to reach the destination require not only endurance and a strong will, but they have to adjust their pace in accordance with the changes of environment," said Chen, who has taken up jogging.
Another aim of the weekend meeting is to synchronize party and political affairs and further the mechanism introduced in July when Chen took over as party chairman.
Chen said the plan was only partially working half a year after being initiated. The DPP needs to work on giving members more opportunities to exchange views and to fully understand policies, he said.
Equally important is the role of lawmakers and county magistrates.
The president said he hoped that DPP lawmakers and local administrators will help the government to map out polices that are in the interests of the grassroots.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
RSS