Notes on Premier Yu's Press Conference

The 24th day of the twelfth lunar month is "little" Chinese New Year's Day and also marks the day that the Premier, the head of the ROC's Executive Yuan, holds his annual year-end press conference. The year-end press conferences were initiated by President Chiang Ching-kuo when he was Premier and have been held fourteen times to date. This is the third time that Premier Yu Kuo-hwa has met with reporters from at home and abroad to respond to their questions and communicate views with them face to face.

At 2:00 p.m. on January 23rd, Premier Yu, accompanied by Executive Yuan Secretary-General Wang Chang-ch'ing, arrived at the Executive Yuan reception room, the site of the press conference. Reporters from all the mass media, who were jumping with questions, were called on, as in the past, by Government Information Office Director Chang King-yuh.

During the conference, Premier Yu responded to twenty questions on politics, foreign affairs, the economy, education, society, agriculture, athletics, and other areas. He stressed that we made major accomplishments in all areas last year, and that we must continue to strive to advance. The government's responsibility, he said, is to maintain a stable and peaceful environment and to create a more democratic, prosperous, and harmonious society.

Premier Yu also indicated his deep confidence in the nation's becoming a developed country within this century.

Sensitive questions on the lifting of martial law, on whether the Cabinet would be reshuffled, and on holding across-the-board elections for national representatives were each answered by the Premier with sincerity and in detail.

The press conference was originally scheduled to last one hour, but Premier Yu took the initiative of extending it for another ten minutes to respond more fully to the reporters' questions.

After GIO Director Chang declared the conference at an end, the press corps rose to applaud and Premier Yu thanked the reporters for their efforts over the past year in reporting on the Executive Yuan's activities and in reflecting public opion.