Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration.
Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth.
“I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said.
The “1” refers to the establishment of the ministry of sports in September. The “7” are the other areas of focus, which includes balancing the nation’s six major industrial and living areas, establishing an Asia Asset Management Center, implementing the NT$1 trillion (US$33.14 billion) national investment plan between this year and 2028, and implementing Lai’s 17 national security measures.
The Cabinet would also continue to promote the development of semiconductors, uncrewed aerial vehicles and smart robots, implement an updated long-term care program, introduce public housing reforms for young couples with children and maintain a stable power supply while phasing out coal-fired power generation by 2032, Cho said.
Comparing the Cabinet to a “pilot” navigating the country into a port, Cho said his team’s goal was to achieve “stable progress.”
The government also hopes to work with the opposition to improve society and make the country stronger, he said.
Separately, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) poll on Friday showed that Cho had an approval rating of 45.3 percent and a 38.3 percent disapproval rating.
The majority of the public highly supported the “Healthy Taiwan” policies, with 91.7 percent supporting free cancer screening and 72.7 percent approving the lowering of the age for subsidized annual health check-ups to 30, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) said.
The NT$30 billion subsidy program for the government’s “housing justice” program was approved by 72.7 percent of respondents, while tax relief for the youth and expanding the range of lower income groups that do not need to pay income tax received 78.5 percent support, he said.
The proposed ministry of sports, which aims to improve health fitness and athletic programs was supported by 59.7 percent of respondents, Wu said.
Additionally, 51.9 percent supported the Cabinet’s plan to earmark NT$100 billion to subsidize electricity rates, he said.
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