Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) today announced future policy priorities and reviewed the government’s performance in the past year, as the Cabinet prepares to mark its first anniversary in office on Tuesday next week.
The Cabinet would work as Taiwan’s “maritime pilot,” leading Taiwanese to “sail” happily as they pursue their dreams, Cho told a news conference in Taipei.
The five major actions and 20 “works in progress” spelled out by Cho cover health, technology, industry development, security resilience and funding projects such as Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative and expanding the Culture Points Scheme.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
A key initiative of the administration moving forward is the establishment of the Ministry of Sports, which is to begin operations on Sept. 9 when the nation observes National Sports Day, he said.
Regarding the business sector, Cho vowed to support the “six major industries,” establish an Asia Asset Management Center, promote a Trade in Services Agreement that includes Taiwan, implement the Trillion New Taiwan Dollar Investment National Development Plan and further development of semiconductors, drones and intelligent robots.
The Cabinet also announced social policy priorities, including the Long-term Care Plan 3.0 and housing policy that aims to encourage marriage and to boost the birthrate.
Energy issues were also among the Cabinet’s priorities, as the government vowed to stabilize electricity supply and to review the demolition of thermal power plants by 2032.
In addition, 17 national security strategies would be carried out, Cho said.
Reviewing the government’s performance in the past year, Cho said he does not wish the Cabinet to be remembered as repeatedly requesting the legislature to reconsider bills.
The Cabinet would strike a balance in turbulent times and aim to progress amid conflict, he said.
The government is committed to promoting social policies, such as combating fraud, improving pedestrian safety, working on reconstruction after the Hualien earthquake, providing subsidies for parents with young children and offering funds for new cancer drugs, the premier said.
Regarding efforts to boost the economy, Cho said the government is committed to developing artificial intelligence and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.
Cho also mentioned the government’s prompt response to US tariff policy.
The government was able to put forward proposals to support local industries in 48 hours, stabilizing the stock market, he said.
Cho urged the legislature to approve the Cabinet’s special budget to respond to the tariffs and other challenges.
Asked if the government would wait until the next legislative elections after the recall votes to push through important bills, Cho said the government has never taken the mass recall campaign into account when making policy decisions.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said a rally would be held on Monday next week to urge President William Lai (賴清德) to step down.
A motorcade destined for the Democratic Progressive Party’s headquarters would depart from the KMT’s headquarters in the afternoon.
The KMT called on the public to join the rally by honking twice at 5:20pm to express their anger toward the Lai government.
KMT Secretary-General Justin Huang (黃健庭) said the past year was the darkest time in Taiwan’s history and the nation’s democracy has been severely compromised.
The Lai government has concentrated all its efforts in power struggles, ignoring the economy and people’s livelihood, while creating social confrontation by abusing the judiciary and promoting the mass recall campaign, Huang said.
The government “kneeled down” before any negotiation began when the US announced its tariffs, allowing US President Donald Trump to take as much as he likes, he added.
“You can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep,” KMT spokesperson Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) said to explain why they chose sounding a horn in protest.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua and Shih Hsiao-kuang
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