President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said he had asked government agencies to make the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) negotiation process as transparent as possible to ease public concern over the pact.
Ma said that as official negotiations are scheduled to begin sometime this month, he made the request to make as much information as possible available as long as this does not hamper the progress of negotiations. The administration intends to sign the pact with Beijing in May.
Government agencies must explain the pact not only to businesses benefiting from an ECFA, but also to those who will be hard-hit and propose remedies for any problems, he said.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Ma said that although the government began promoting the proposed accord last year, the public had not obtained sufficient information about it and therefore had some “misunderstandings.”
“If we use this approach to keep pushing, we can reduce doubts among the people,” he said. “I hope this will become part of the training program of civil servants so they can do a good job promoting government policies before we officially launch them.”
Ma made the remarks while addressing a tea party to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Examination Yuan yesterday morning.
Others in attendance included Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Examination Yuan President John Kuan (關中) and former Examination Yuan presidents Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), Hsu Shui-teh (許水德) and Chiu Chuang-huan (邱創煥).
Ma said recently that some government polices had not won the support of the public because most people did not understand them well enough.
“There must be reforms that are so concrete and grand that the people can feel it,” he said.
Using the example of award-winning Taiwanese film No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti (不能沒有你), Ma encouraged civil servants to refrain from clashing with people simply because certain laws and regulations were outdated.
Civil servants could do their best to create some leeway within the realms of the law and minimize possible damage, he said.
“Civil servants might not be able to do their job perfectly, but they can compare their feelings with others,” he said. “Some people might still be unsatisfied, but they might find it acceptable.”
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