The New Minister of Communications—A Practical Man

On the first day of work he held a press conference, and facing all the questions from reporters, he stated, "I've just come on the job and have no answers yet. Give me a month's time to know this place; then I'll know."

His first test was the problem of holiday traffic during the Dragon Boat Festival. When others are busy making the traditional steamed rice dumplings, or tsungtzu, and planning trips for the three-day vacation, the employees of Communications are just beginning to work.

First, for these three days the Directorate General of Telecommunications established forty extra lines for the traffic information channel "168" which reports the traffic situation so that travellers can avoid traffic jams. Second, during the holiday period no highway tolls were collected so as to expedite traffic flow. Auxiliary highway patrols were also stationed to offer quick assistance in case of accidents. These were only a few of the many precautionary measures taken.

As a result, thousands of listeners were able to avoid traffic jams and accidents by listening to "168", and the work of the patrols kept the highways clear. During the holidays, Minister Kuo himself drove out to the highways to monitor traffic speeds three times.

Although not perfect, the Dragon Boat Festival weekend traffic situation compared very favorably with the jams of Tomb-Sweeping Day. The Minister received a grade of "just passing" for the weekend.

Kuo Nan-hung is 51 years old, and was born in Tainan. He received his B.S. in electrical engineering from National Taiwan University, his M.S. in electronics from Chiao Tung University, and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from North-western University.

His character is frank and persevering, and he likes to get to the bottom of things. He describes himself as an early-to-bed, early-to-rise "country boy" with simple tastes. A professor at Chiao Tung says of him, "He'll never take a suggestion of yours unless you have good reason and full confidence in it."

The first two days on the job when he was being welcomed at the Ministry, and many government officials came to congratulate him, illegal parking in front of the Ministry was widespread. Kuo had the situation monitored and admonished his guests that obedience of the traffic laws must start at the Ministry.

Being a driver himself and having experienced many a jam, he sees layout of the roads as the most urgent problem. Every rapidly developing country has this same problem, he says.

Everybody has high hopes for Minister Kuo. Does he feel pressure from such high expectations? He believes that the pressure is normal, but it won't alter his work style, or his determination to do his best.

He has decided to approve the use of radio taxis. "We've observed that three to six out of ten cars on the road are taxis, and many are without passengers—and people ask why we have traffic jams," declares Kuo. The use of radio taxis can decrease traffic.

Motorcycles and taxis are the malignant tumors of Taipei traffic. Kuo says, "The two-wheeled motorcycle with poorer balance at high speed is more accident prone. They also create noise and air pollution. Although they possess these disadvantages, it will be a while before we can see a decrease in their use due to crowded parking and inconvenient, overloaded public transportation."

"We now have two objectives: The first is to improve public transportation, and the second is to restrict motorbikes to certain streets," explains Kuo. He continues, "I'm optimistic that in time we can reduce the number of motorcycles."

His ten-hour work days are consumed by meetings with co-workers and receiving visitors; all other work is taken home. He attributes his considerable energy to the fact that he plays tennis regularly.

At the Ministry, he retains the same manner of working he had at Chiao Tung; he prefers informal meetings and working lunches to formal speeches. Kuo says, "A minister who stays behind his desk and has no contact with the real situation can easily fall out of touch. Personal contact with employees and visitors is the best way for a minister to be well-informed."

As for work goals, Kuo says, "I'm an engineer; I have no goals." After thus surprising his listeners, he adds, "In engineering we know that overall perfection is unattainable; what we strive for are solutions on a problem-by-problem basis."

The interview over, the Minister turns back from his office door and smiles, "Talk won't get our work done."

[Picture Caption]

Kuo Nan-hung has been styled the "deregulation minister" by the news media for his numerous deregulation measures.

Tennis is Kuo's "secret" for remaining energetic. (photo courtesy of Ministry of Communications)

Solving the domestic traffic problem will not be an easy task.