On the morning of December 16, President Ma Ying-jeou attended an event entitled "Yen Chia-kan and Economic Development in Taiwan: An International Conference." The event was held to highlight the many contributions of former President Yen Chia-kan (嚴家淦, 1905-1993) to economic development in Taiwan.
In remarks, President Ma first stated that December 24 of this year marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of former President Yen. In the course of his four decades in public service, the former president was involved in many important developments in Taiwan, including the post-war reconstruction of Taiwan's economy, transformation of Taiwan's industrial structure, and adjustment of Taiwan's economic development strategies, said President Ma, adding that the former president thus played a key role in Taiwan's economic miracle.
As an example, President Ma stated that when Taiwan faced a serious threat from rampant inflation in the post-war period, Mr. Yen, who headed the Taiwan provincial government's Department of Finance, laid out plans for currency reform. This crucial step, along with fiscal changes, enabled Taiwan to escape the consequences of the economic collapse of mainland China in those years, the president said. Former President Yen, he noted, was thus referred to as the "Father of the New Taiwan Dollar," a title that was well deserved.
President Ma furthermore stated that after the central government relocated to Taiwan in 1949, Mr. Yen served as minister of economic affairs, minister of finance, governor of the Taiwan provincial government, and minister of the Veterans Affairs Council. He also served as chairman of the Economic Stabilization Board and chairman of the Council for US Aid. Mr. Yen, the president said, in March 1958 took over as minister of finance for a second time. Shortly thereafter, mainland China began intense shelling of Kinmen in the 823 (August 23) Artillery War of 1958, while in the following year Taiwan suffered heavy damage from flooding. In addition, American aid at that time was gradually being reduced, he stated. Faced with these many pressures, Mr. Yen and K.T. Li (李國鼎) jointly developed the Nineteen-point Reform Program to boost economic development, and important laws—such as the Statute for Investment by Foreign Nationals, the Statute for Investment by Overseas Chinese, and the Statute for the Encouragement of Investment—were passed to attract investment from overseas Chinese and foreigners, and attract management expertise from overseas. In addition, export processing zones were created and promoted. All of these moves helped to gradually solidify the foundation for Taiwan's economic development, the president said.
President Ma mentioned that Mr. Yen served as premier from 1963 to 1972, a turbulent period during which the United States ended assistance to Taiwan, the ROC withdrew from the United Nations, and diplomatic relations were severed between the ROC and Japan. Nonetheless, Mr. Yen led Taiwan through these challenges and successfully promoted his administrative agenda, the president added, further pointing out that former President Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正) nominated him as vice president in 1966. President Ma said that following former President Chiang's death in 1975, Yen assumed the presidency in accordance with the Constitution and, over a period of three years as president, exercised his superb political wisdom to ensure proper coordination between the ruling party—Kuomintang—and the government and maintain political stability, President Ma remarked. At the same time, he also supported the Ten Major Construction Projects, which were outlined by then Premier and later President Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), which propelled Taiwan into a new era which saw its economy take off, the president said.
Lastly, President Ma noted that the Academia Historica had invited scholars and experts from Taiwan, the United States, and Japan to attend the conference, helping to highlight the various contributions made by former President Yen to Taiwan's economic development, politics, and diplomacy. The government, the president remarked, will continue to work to follow the example of former President Yen and build on his successes to bring new levels of prosperity and peace to the people of Taiwan.