Premier Su Tseng-chang
Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Friday delivered his semi-annual administrative report to the Legislature, live streaming the presentation on his Facebook and LINE accounts in a new approach by the government to inform the public of its policies.
In his first administrative report since he took office on Jan. 14, Su said the government is committed to preserving Taiwan's democracy despite political pressure from China.
The government's major policies also include improving protection of disadvantaged groups, strengthening cultural values in Taiwan and prioritizing economic development and public safety, the premier said.
On the economic front, the government will continue to push its initiatives on the "5 plus 2" industries to reform Taiwan's economic and industrial structure, Su said, referring to a program aimed at developing an Asian Silicon Valley, biotech related projects, green energy, smart machinery, defense industries, new agriculture and a circular economy.
In the area of social development, the government will seek to improve social order through efforts such as drug prevention among young people, he said.
In addition, the government is committed to better protecting children by seeking to impose heavier penalties for child abuse, Su said, adding that he hoped the Legislature would pass the amendment to the Criminal Act to make that possible.
The premier said the government will continue its efforts to prevent African swine fever (ASF) from reaching Taiwan and that he has asked 14 Cabinet members to closely monitor the situation. After the address, lawmakers across party lines commended Su for taking the initiative to stream his report live on Facebook and on LINE.
Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) of the ruling Democratic Progressive party told the press that the live stream would have allowed Su to reach as many Taiwan citizens as possible in this internet age.
Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) said that with the live stream allowing the premier to reach a wider audience, the public will now be paying attention to how the Cabinet is implementing its policies.
Ko said she guessed the live streaming idea came from Su's daughters, one of whom is a lawmaker.
A similar approach was adopted during Su's campaign in the New Taipei mayoral election last November but he failed to win the seat, Ko noted.
Meanwhile, the premier's daughter Legislator Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) said he is good at using social media in a society that is accustomed to such methods and that the Cabinet needs to adjust to the internet age.
Su, who lost the New Taipei mayoral election to the KMT's Hou You-yi (侯友宜), was appointed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) earlier this year to head the Cabinet based on his experience in that position 13 years ago during the previous DPP administration.
(By Fan Cheng-hsiang, Chen Chun-hua, Wang Yang-yu, Su Lung-chih
and Frances Huang)
Enditem/pc