President Ma Ying-jeou, accompanied by Vice President Wu Den-yih, invited the presidents, vice presidents, and secretaries-general from the five Yuan (the five branches of the ROC government) to the Presidential Office for a reception on the afternoon of December 25 to exchange opinions on a wide range of issues, including domestic economic and trade developments, food safety, systems to protect human rights, and judicial reform.
In remarks, President Ma first thanked the presidents, vice presidents, and secretaries-general from the five Yuan for their years of hard work.
Commenting first on Taiwan's economy, President Ma remarked that the Executive Yuan's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) this past November announced that the nation achieved economic growth of 3.63% in the third quarter, which compares favorably with the 3.2% registered by Korea and the 2.8% by Singapore. In addition, Taiwan's economic growth for the year as a whole was expected to reach 3.43%, which would be higher than a previous forecast by the DGBAS, he said. Meanwhile, the president remarked, Taiwan's unemployment rate in November fell to 3.89%, the second lowest in the past six and a half years, while the average unemployment rate from January to November was 3.97%, the lowest in the past seven years over the corresponding period. These statistics show that Taiwan's economy is recovering steadily, he commented. In addition, he noted, the difference in incomes between the top 20% and lowest 20% of households has fallen from a ratio of 6.34:1 in 2009, to 6.08:1 last year, while on a per capita income basis the gap had dropped to 4.08:1, which indicates that income distribution in Taiwan is improving and the wealth gap is narrowing. He expressed hope that wealth in Taiwan will become still more evenly distributed in the future.
Following the announcement last month that mainland China and Korea had completed substantive negotiations on a free trade agreement, the president stated that the agreement is expected to take effect in the first half of next year (2015) at the earliest. Given that Korea is one of Taiwan's main trading competitors and that roughly 70% of the exports of the two countries to mainland China overlap, the deal between mainland China and Korea could be a blow to Taiwan's steel, petrochemical, flat panel, machine tools, automobile, textile, and glass industries, he said. The president mentioned that our government agencies have held emergency meetings to assess the expected impact on local industry and how to reduce the blow. The government, he stated, should also seek to sign economic cooperation agreements with its major trading partners as soon as possible.
Regarding the food safety issue that came to the forefront in the second half of this year, President Ma acknowledged an enormous impact on people's lives and on Taiwan's national reputation. "We are deeply disturbed by this problem," he said, adding that only a strict and broad system of inspections, and assessment of fines for infractions, can correct this problem. The president pointed out that the Legislative Yuan has already passed amendments to the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, and that he formally promulgated the amended act on December 10. Under the amended provisions, he said, fines and criminal liability for violations of the law have been tightened considerably. He expressed confidence that, if government agencies investigate carefully, penalize heavily, regulate food from the very beginning of the production chain, and implement a three-tier quality control system, consumers' faith in Taiwan's food safety can be restored.
Noting that the ruling party suffered a big defeat in the "9 in 1" elections carried out at the end of last November, President Ma said that the results of the polls signal that the government's efforts have been insufficient and that its achievements fall short of public expectations. The president stated that the ruling party must critically assess its performance and humbly listen to the complaints and suggestions of the public.
President Ma then mentioned that the government has a number of tough problems to tackle, including drought, food safety, and adjustments in the prices of various necessities due to the large drop in electricity and oil prices. He said that the central government and local governments need to coordinate and cooperate on these issues to meet the needs of the public to the extent possible. He noted that the recent elections also reflected deep public concern over high housing prices and the imbalanced distribution of wealth. The president stressed that the government is making necessary reforms in these areas, adding that the Executive Yuan has recently been pushing important legislative amendments that would provide for taxation of actual real estate transaction gains realized from the sale of both land and the structures sitting on it, integration of business income tax and consolidated income tax, and halving of the dividend tax credit. He said that these moves will benefit the national coffers while contributing to fairness and justice within society. The president expressed hope that the Executive Yuan can continue to communicate with the Legislative Yuan to get these amendments passed.
President Ma also thanked Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Vice President Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) for supervising the executive branch, spurring it to perform better, and helping to promote a variety of administrative measures. President Ma pointed out that important bills with a bearing on the future of Taiwan, including the Draft of the Special Act for Free Economic Pilot Zones, the Draft of the Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act, and the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement are now before the Legislative Yuan, and said he hopes the legislature will finish deliberations as soon as possible. He stated that these bills will liberalize Taiwan's economic and trade regime, thus laying the foundation for the negotiation of economic cooperation agreements or free trade agreements with other countries.
As for judicial reform, President Ma remarked, the Judicial Yuan has done a lot of good work in recent years on this front. For instance, substantive achievements have been seen in efforts to ensure that judges start court proceedings on time and display a better attitude while hearing cases. The president said that some people still have grievances related to specific cases and he hopes the Judicial Yuan can keep more closely aware of public perceptions. For example, he noted, the continued promotion of an advisory jury system will enable the public to understand the course of legal proceedings and thus boost the public's trust in the justice system.
Addressing the work carried out by Examination Yuan under former Examination Yuan President Kuan Chung (關中) and former Examination Yuan Vice President Wu Jin-lin (伍錦霖), President Ma said that important steps have been taken, and he further remarked that the 12th Examination Yuan under the leadership of Examination Yuan President Wu Jin-lin and Examination Yuan Vice President Kao Yuang-kuang (高永光) will be able to effectively introduce an even better civil service system and public service pension reforms, and in the face of an aging society and smaller size of families to promote an even more skilled group of public servants and a more well-rounded retirement pension system for them.
Commenting on the government's ombudsman authority, President Ma stated that the fifth Control Yuan had 11 vacancies, and that in order to ensure the smooth operation of the Control Yuan he nominated 11 individuals to fill those posts. The president said that the list has been forwarded to the Legislative Yuan and he hopes that lawmakers will approve the nominees as quickly as possible. He also called on the members of the fifth Control Yuan to carry out their duties in an objective and fair manner, fulfill their responsibility as set forth in the Constitution, and appropriately exercise their ombudsman powers, thereby contributing to the nation.
Lastly, President Ma emphasized that the ROC's constitutional system provides for a five-branch separation of powers, with all branches being equal and interdependent. In addition to providing a system of checks and balances, he said, the five Yuan should also engage in cooperation and a division of labor. He therefore called on the five Yuan to coordinate and work together for the greater good.
Among those attending the reception were Premier Mao Chih-kuo (毛治國) , Legislative Yuan President Wang, Judicial Yuan President Hau-Min Rai (賴浩敏), Examination Yuan President Wu, Control Yuan President Chang Po-ya (張博雅), Vice Premier Chang San-cheng (張善政) , Legislative Yuan Vice President Hung, Judicial Yuan Vice President Yeong-Chin Su (蘇永欽), Examination Yuan Vice President Kao, Control Yuan Vice President Sun Ta-chuan (孫大川), Executive Yuan Secretary-General Lee Shih-chuan (李四川), Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Jiin-fang Lin (林錦芳), Examination Yuan Secretary-General Jih-Shyuan Lee (李繼玄), and Control Yuan Secretary-General Fu Meng-jung (傅孟融). Also attending the event were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), and Deputy Secretaries-General to the President Hsiung Kuang-hua (熊光華) and Hsu-Tsen Hsiao (蕭旭岑).