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.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS