In recent years the economy of the R.O.C. has flourished. Exports have increased to the point where there is an accumulation of about US$75 billion in foreign currency, and the average per capita income has risen to around US$5,000. The traditional saving habits of the Chinese people have created a quick rise in savings deposits. As a result, the domestic monetary channels are "clogged." This has led to idle capital roaming about. On account of this, various kinds of illegal monetary dealings have arisen which have created disorder in the money market and affected the order of economic development.

Upgrading money service standards has become an urgent need of society. Government authorities face three major tasks: (1) opening of new banks, (2) turning over public banks to private management, and (3) permitting banks to set up branches overseas.

As for the opening of new banks, for the past forty years the government has permitted 34 foreign banks to establish branches on Taiwan and has also permitted the establishment of two overseas Chinese banks, yet the government has strictly controlled newly established banks of R.O.C. citizens. This policy of "open to foreigners while closed to Chinese" is hard to explain from the viewpoint of emotion, reason, and the law. The government has no reason to continue to keep its own citizens on the outside.

The question of turning the provincial government's three commercial banks (The First Commercial Bank, the Chang Hua Commercial Bank, and the Hua Nan Commercial Bank.) over to private management has been discussed for ten or twenty years yet there has never been any action taken. However, recently President Li Teng-hui has directed authorities to research methods of managing the banks by the private sector. Hopefully, before long there will be some concrete, feasible results to announce.

The three banks mentioned above are all very large in scale. Turning their management over to the private sector will certainly create a large blow to the money market, so it's necessary that proper preparations be made. In order to make the transition go smoothly, the three banks should be turned over to private management in succession rather than all at once. The banks should announce a work schedule first. In this way people may opt to sell stocks in distribution.

The call for monetary internationalization has been loud and clear recently. It has also become the vogue of our times. After World War Ⅱ, as international investment and international trade expanded, the international money market also experienced rapid development. Banks from various economically advanced nations established branches in foreign countries one after another, thus becoming a part of the close-knit international money market network.

The opening of domestic banks to foreign branches is not only an inevitability but also a must. Government authorities should increase the speed at which administrative work is done. Even more so the banking industry should increase international monetary talent and create an opportunity to squeeze into the international money market.

For many years now the R.O.C.'s monetary policy has been to "cope with changes by abiding by a principle of 'no changes.'" In keeping up with changing times, government authorities should fully understand the changes in the monetary environment, change its way of doing things, and make timely adjustments in policy. Money is supposed to serve in assisting economic development. Not only must it keep pace with economic development, but also it must walk out in front to bring economic development fully into play. The monetary authorities should encourage themselves.