Manufacturing is expected to move ahead at 11.5 per cent a year compared with 3.6 per cent for agriculture. Farm population is expected to fall from 38.5 to 25 per cent of the total. The rate of population increase is projected to decline from 2.2 to 1.8 per cent annually.
Export expansion is set at 12 per cent and import gain at 11.9 per cent. Growth rate of power, transportation and ports is figured at 10.2 per cent.
These goals are modest enough compared with the progress made in the first half of 1971.
Trade soared by 36.2 per cent in the January-June period with volume of US$1,930 million. Exports were US$993.7 million, up 39.8 per cent, and imports US$938.7 million, an increase of 32.5 per cent, for a favorable balance of US$55 million.
In the same period, industrial output climbed by 21.7 per cent, agricultural production by 7.2 per cent, power output by 16.8 per cent (7,261 million kilowatt hours), land passenger transportation 8.3 per cent, land freight 8.2 per cent, port cargo 19.4 per cent, tourism 16.3 per cent, money supply 15.5 per cent and consumer prices 1.74 per cent. Wholesale prices dropped 0.46 per cent.
The Central Bank of China responded to world monetary rate instability by terminating all official exchange rates except that with the U.S. dollar, which remains at US$1 to NT$40. Floating rates affected. Hongkong and Malaysian dollars, Swiss and French francs, the British pound, West German mark and pataca.
Ninety-one per cent of 's foreign exchange settlements were in U.S. dollars last year and 5 per cent in Hongkong dollars.
Five banks set up a fund of US$3,750,000 to stabilize the stock exchange, which lost value and volume in the wake of the dollar devaluation, import surcharge and President Nixon's projected visit to the Chinese mainland. Book losses amounted to about US$75 million in three weeks. Some stocks declined by more than 30 per cent.
Trading was down to a fourth of normal. Both investors and government officials agreed the decline was primarily psychological. Most of the companies represented on the exchange export principally to and will not be materially affected by dollar or yen changes.
Minister of Economic Affairs Y. S. Sun said 90 to 92 per cent of exports to the would be adversely affected by the 10 per cent import surcharge ordered by President Nixon. Cotton textiles and sugar are under quota and therefore exempt. Minister Sun said the commodities hardest hit would be electrical apparatus and parts and textiles other than cottons.
However, producers, exporters and American importers and consumers will share the increased cost, Minister Sun said, and the total effect may not be too damaging. The prolonged U.S. West Coast dock strike is impeding deliveries of products, he said.
In the first half of 1971, exported US$419 million worth of goods to the and imported US$319 million worth. The Council for International Economic Cooperation and Development called a meeting to consider impact of the economic measures. No conclusions were reached pending further studies. The Board of Foreign Trade asked major exporters to report on their shipments to the .
This is an example of how import duties will be changed on some of 's major exports to the : plywood, 12 to 22 per cent; garments and synthetic textiles, 18 to 28 per cent; TV sets, 6 to 16 per cent; plastic board, 5 to 15 per cent; plastic footwear, 6 to 16 per cent.
Economic sources said the government would not consider revaluation of the NT$ unless and until the changes the price of gold.
Minister Sun told of plans for increased trade with Southeast Asia, Africa and . Commerce will be encouraged with countries which do not have diplomatic relations with the Republic of China. The minister noted that Chinese Communist establishment of diplomatic relations with and had not affected the growth of trade between those countries and free .
Trade ties also are to be strengthened with . Minister Sun attended the Sino-Belgian Economic Cooperation Conference in and said most European countries were favorable to increased commerce. agreed to extend a US$6 million loan to the ROC for purchase of electrical and telecommunications equipment.
The Voest Steel Corporation of has expressed interest in cooperation to build a large integrated steel mill in . The Swan Hunter Shipbuilding Corporation of has submitted plans for a government-financed shipyard at .
German sources said demand is increasing for such products as fruit juices, artificial flowers, clothing, footwear, scientific instruments, plastic materials, toys and jewelry.
A new tariff law passed the Legislative Yuan. Of the 3,926 items covered, 40 will be newly exempted from duty. More than 250 tariff rates will be cut and 170 will be hiked. The auto tariff was set at 75 per cent, which will mean a total tax of 131.4375 per cent.
Exporters were given government plaques and citations for 1970 performances. Thirteen showed volume in excess of US$10 million.
Shoe exports are expected to reach US$70 million this year, up from the US$40,350,000 of last year. Sales to the make up 80 per cent of the total. Quality has been raised and many new varieties and styles brought out.
The Taiwan Canned Food Association has a membership of 222 plants. Output was 34 million cases last year, of which 90 per cent went into the export trade. Local sales earned US$4,260,000 and exports US$104 million in 1971. Canned asparagus and mushrooms were world leaders.
Eels may become a US$53 million export earner by 1974. Exports began only three years ago and reached US$7 million last year. Anticipated volume is US$10 million this year. is the big buyer. It imports 40,000 tons a year, compared with the present output of 1,500 tons.
The Taiwan Eel Raisers' Association expects eel ponds to exceed 1,000 hectares by 1974, compared with 200 hectares at the end of 1970. About 200 raisers are active in southern , where warm water and low levels of pollution make possible the raising of eel in 10 months compared with two years in . Japanese raisers have been hard hit by pollution.
Japanese prefer eel about 16 inches long and weighing some 4 ounces. Shipment is by air in special containers. Oxygen is pumped through the water to keep the eel alive.
Construction paced industrial growth in the first six months of 1971. The rate for industry as a whole· was 21.7 per cent, compared with 27.6 per cent for construction. Manufacturing stood at 22.6 per cent and public utilities at 18.3 per cent. At the head of the manufactures' parade were shipbuilding with 57.4 per cent and textiles with 47.3 per cent. Electrical apparatus was off from 47.3 per cent in the first half of 1970 to 11.4 per cent as the result of economic recession in the and declining demand at home.
The Chinese Petroleum Corporation announced plans to construct a second naphtha cracking plant and hydrocarbon cracker at next year. The two will be completed in four years at a cost of US$50 million. The raw materials produced will go to petrochemical industries. Loans from the U.S. Export-Import Bank will total US$40 million. CPC will spend US$3 million on its third natural gas plant at Hsinchu. Capacity will be a million cubic meters of gas daily.
Management quality will be upgraded with opening of the . New managers will be taught and incumbents given refresher and advanced courses. Sponsors are and foreign-financed industries and the YMCA. Subjects will include job instruction, problem solving, decision making, planning, control, discussion guidance, communications and types of management.
Walter J. Tait, who has had 36 years of experience in personnel training and management development, is the International. Executive Service Corporation adviser for the project.
The Chinese government and United Nations Development Program signed a contract for strengthening the Union Industrial Research Institute. Ten foreign consultants will come to to work with the Institute and 10 research scientists will be sent abroad for advanced study. The cost will be US$1,251,000, of which UNDP will put up US$510,000.
Eight monosodium glutamate plants using the outdated yeast process will invest US$7.5 million in a plant using the acetic acid method. The product will be of higher quality and cost less. In 1971, sodium glutamate exports earned US$3.66 million in foreign exchange.
With 39 member plants, the Taiwan Flour Industry Association reports capacity exceeds demand by more than 50 per cent. Production value was nearly US$46 million last year with exports of less than US$500,000. Most wheat is imported from the . High costs limit the export market.
Toy exports reached US$23 million in 1971 with a further increase in sight for this year. The Taiwan Toy Manufacturers' Association has brought order into an industry which is only 10 years old and the government is encouraging further investment.
Another overdeveloped industry is cement. Output was 4,526,000 tons last year, or 87 per cent of capacity. Eight additional plants have been in the planning stage but only one is likely to be built because of the slowdown in demand. Domestic sales rose by an average of 21 per cent annually in 1967, 1968 and 1969 but only 2.7 per cent last year. Exports were just under 1 million tons in 1971.
Sales of transportation equipment have slowed. For 1970, some 80,000 units were sold, representing a third of production. Reasons were increased imports and high costs. Motorcycle sales were down 15 per cent from 1969 and 40 per cent from 1968. The market was saturated. Some plants shut down and others cut back production.
Domestic bicycle sales have declined to a point where 80 per cent of output is exported. Transportation production levels in 1970 included 9,000 autos, 100,000 motorcycles and 180,000 bicycles.
The knitting industry had exports of US$110 million tor the first seven months of this year. Sales for the whole year will be between US$150 million and US$200 million. A close estimate is precluded by problems of stretch nylon supply, the U.S. West Coast dock strike and possibility of quotas.
Pharmaceutical output showed only a small increase last year. The industry was producing at about 60 per cent of capacity. Exports exceeded US$5 million, compared with US$17.6 million worth of imports. has about 700 pharmaceutical plants, 300 of them making Chinese herb medicines.
Success of a hostel for working girls has led Father Edgar J. Wojniak to contemplate others. The first hostel was opened at Hsintien in suburban . Similar projects are needed in Chungli, , Hsinchuang and Sanchung.
Factory girls making US$25 to $ month pay only US$3.75 for lodging. There is a social center and basketball and volleyball courts. Classes arc given in flower arrangement, cooking and English. More than half the girls attend night school. Occupancy is close to 100 per cent.
Father Wojniak raised most of the construction funds from donations. Government and industry helped with loans. The rents paid by the girls are sufficient for operating expenses, but Father Wojniak is seeking additional funds to pay back the loans. Foreign fundraising has turned out to be difficult because of the widespread impression that is too rich to require contributions.
President Chiang Kai-shek told a meeting of 10 ROC diplomatic representatives stationed in the Asian and Pacific region that the world's silent majority is aware of Communism's viciousness, favors free and "in their hearts are willing to help us."
"Therefore," the chief executive continued, "today is the turning point for us to develop our sincere revolutionary spirit with everyone standing firm at his post to contribute his wisdom and enthusiasm to break through the current crisis." The struggle must go on in time of difficulty, he added.
Madame Chiang told the envoys that a nation has its own character, national stand and spirit. By standing firm, the Republic of China can hasten the end of appeasement, she said.
Foreign Minister Chow Shu-kai briefed the envoys on the ROC's international position at the one-day conference. Also attending was Vice Premier Chiang Ching-kuo.
Envoys were Ambassador Shen Chang-huan from Bangkok, Ambassador Sampson Shen from Canberra, Ambassador Lo Ying-teh from Seoul, Ambassador Patrick Pichi Sun from Manila, Ambassador Peng Meng-chi from Tokyo, Ambassador Hu Lien from Saigon, Ambassador Konsin Shah from Wellington, Tung Tsung-shan from Phnom Penh, Peter Chang from Singapore and Chang Tsung-jen from Kuala Lumpur. Each reported on conditions in his country of station.
Meetings of ROC diplomats also were convened in and . Vice Foreign Minister Tchen Hiong-fei went to and Wang Chih-chen, former ambassador to , to the meeting in . African envoys met with Vice Foreign Minister H. K. Yang during the course of his 10-week visit to that continent.
Ties were severed with three countries as a consequence of their recognizing the Chinese Communists. The Foreign Ministry expressed confidence that friendly relations would continue with the peoples of , and .
Recognition was extended to the new state of , an Arab sheikdom which includes the 250-square-mile and several smaller islands. It has been a British protectorate and is an oil producer. Population is a little over 200,000.
President Chiang met with a delegation of 24 Congressmen headed by Carl B. Albert, speaker of the House of Representatives. The nation's leader called for closer cooperation with the .
The and have been friends for a long time, the President said, and Americans have helped the Chinese in many trying times. He expressed appreciation for unfailing support.
Speaker Albert echoed the President's expressions of friendship and said the two countries could contribute to world peace and stability. Earlier, he had conveyed President Nixon's assurances that the would never betray old friends and would not shirk from its commitments to the Republic of China.
Also present at the reception were Madame Chiang, Vice Premier Chiang Ching-kuo, Foreign Minister Chow Shu-kai and U.S. Ambassador Walter McConaughy. The visitors met with Vice President C. K. Yen and members of the Executive Yuan (Cabinet) and Legislative Yuan.
Departing after the three-day visit, Speaker Albert said: "As elected representatives of the American people, Congressmen are keeping a watchful eye on what the U.S. government is doing.·' They will make sure that President Nixon's visit to Communist China will not affect our old friends ...
"I have reaffirmed our full commitment to the strength of our alliance and to the active defense of freedom in . We have been greatly impressed with the success of the Republic of China in building a modern, prosperous and harmonious society. This great achievement is a tribute to the wisdom and far-sightedness of your leader. We return to the with renewed admiration for the dedicated leaders and people of the Republic of China and with confidence in the durability of the ties that bind us together as peoples and nations."
Presidential Secretary-General Chang Chun had two talks with Prime Minister Eisaku Sato in . The statesmen had an exchange of "extremely frank views" on Sino-Japanese relations and the representation question at the United Nations. Chang Chun and Foreign Minister Kiichi Aiichi discussed the U.N. situation at a separate meeting.
President Chiang appointed special envoys to head three goodwill missions to Latin American countries. Dr. Tsiang Yien-si, secretary-general of the Executive Yuan, led a group to , , , , . and . Finance Minister K. T. Li headed the mission visiting , , , , and Brazii. Communications Minister C. C. Chang's team went to Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Barbados, Trinidad, Venezuela and Colombia.
In , Dr. Tsiang's group expressed willingness to buy more Mexican sulfur. cotton, gypsum, mercury and other raw materials. Technical assistance was offered to Mexican fisheries, plastics, textile and printing industries. Agreements were reached on ROC purchase of 30,000 bales of cotton. 20,000 metric tons of corn and 60,000 metric tons of gypsum.
Purchases from will include 10,000 bales of cotton and coffee.
Minister Li was received by President Jose Valasco in and President General Alfredo Stroessner in . President Stroessner said he respected President Chiang Kai-shek as the world's foremost anti-Communist leader. In , the Chinese emissary got stuck in an elevator for half an hour with Peruvian businessmen - and proceeded to do business. He said the Republic of China was interested in paper and petroleum projects. The ROC hopes to sell machinery and tools to and buy fishmeal and matches.
Notes were exchanged by and the ROC for a US$22.45 million yen credit from the Export-Import Bank of . The money will finance purchase of crossbar telephone exchange equipment, establishment of an earth station to connect with the communications satellite, modernization of Taiwan Sugar Corporation facilities and construction of a salt plant using the electrolytic process. Interest will be 5.5 per cent and the repayment period 15 years.
From 1965 to 1971, the Japanese extended yen credits totaling the equivalent of US$150 million for 21 development projects.
Construction got under way on the Keelung-Kaohsiung Expressway with Vice President and Premier C. K. Yen doing the groundbreaking. Heavy machinery then began moving earth on the section of road which will link Sanchung just west of with Chungli.
The US$500 million project is scheduled for completion in 1977. Width of the 234-mile-long freeway will vary from four to eight lanes. There will be 38 interchanges. Construction will be in three stages: to Yangmei (48 miles) to be completed in 1975 Chiayi to Fengshan (near , 69 miles) and Yangmei to Chiayi. (117 miles). Bidders from China, and will share construction of the first link.
Vice President Yen said the road would be an artery for the continued development of . President Chiang attaches great importance to the project, he added, and has repeatedly urged that work be expedited. Communications Minister C. C. Chang, who presided at the ground breaking, said the freeway would provide annual benefits of US$2 billion annually after 1997.
Plans to electrify the mainline of the Taiwan Railway Administration were placed before the Executive Yuan for final decision. The US$145 million project would be completed in 1978. According to TRA, manpower and fuel savings would amount to US$10 million a year. Construction would start next year. Increased speed would cut the Taipei-Kaohsiung express time to 3 hours and 50 minutes.
TRA displayed 22 new coaches purchased from with funds from a World Bank loan. They will seat 72 and stand 28 on the Taipei-Han run. Ninety-one more coaches will arrive soon to reduce crowding on west coast mainline trains.
German consultants recommended TRA improve its container facilities and equipment. A study suggested that TRA could expect to handle from a million to more than 2 million metric tons of container freight by 1980.
Cabinet approval was given for allocation of US$103,835,000 to purchase of equipment and fuel for 's second nuclear power plant. Most of the money will come from U.S. Export-Import Bank and other international loans. Cost of the two plants will be US$292 million.
Taipower is planning third and fourth nuclear generators. All four are expected to be in operation by the end of the decade.
China Airlines began twice-weekly service to in Boeing 727 aircraft. Flights depart Sunday and Thursday at 1:10 p.m. and arrive at 7:55 p.m. after stops in Hongkong and . Return flights leave at 8:40 p.m. Sundays and Thursdays and arrive in at 10:30 p.m. After an overnight layover in , the flights will depart at .m. Mondays and Fridays, arriving in at 4:40 p.m. with stops at and Hongkong.
Governor Chen Ta-ching pledged provincial cooperation in tourism development at a meeting with Wellington Y. Tsao, director of the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Communications. Tsao asked the Provincial Government to:
- Establish an agency to supervise and preserve scenic places.
- Improve tourism facilities along the .
- Explore tourism possibilities of slopelands.
- Redevelop sightseeing attractions of southern .
- Coordinate tourism administration.
- Designate and the as tourism demonstration zones.
Tsao toured scenic areas in southern and central . He disclosed that a US$1.75 million aquarium is under construction at near . The lake has been visited by more than a million people in the last 10 years.
Japanese women tourism writers like . Nineteen of them came for a visit at the invitation of the Tourism Bureau and made suggestions for attracting more Japanese visitors of the fair sex. Japanese are the nationality leaders of tourism but the vast majority of those who come are males.
The ROC merchant marine has reached 1.1 million tons. Forty-seven new vessels with tonnage of 772,851 have been built since 1961. There are 132 shipping companies, 130 of them private enterprises.
Governor Chen Ta-ching pushed the button to begin operation of a cobalt-60 cancer treatment machine at the newly established of the . Another center will be opened at in 1972. Cancer is the No. 2 killer in the province and No. .
Tuberculosis infection is down among junior high school students. In a check of 30,000 third-year students at 43 schools, only 74 cases were discovered. The rate was, 0.24 per cent compared with 1969.
Provincial health officials said the life span has increased 23 years in the last 26 years. The average for women is now 70 and that for men 66.
Interior Minister Hsu Ching-chung said, the government hopes to have all the people covered by health insurance within eight years. The program is voluntary. Government will support expansion of hospitals and help with administrative costs.
The National Health Administration soon will send a pure food bill to the Executive Yuan. The present law dates to 1928 and is inadequate. Controls will be placed on food processing, additives, utensils, containers and packaging.
The will be opened at the . Equipment cost US$500,000. The center will use the universal isotope technetium for examination of vital organs.
Dr. Sun Fo, president of the Examination Yuan, presided at the opening of the nine-story government employees' clinic in downtown . The daily capacity of patients is 3,500.
Vice President Yen warned members of the Fourth Young Asians' Recreational Tour to against Maoist infiltration under the guise of nationalism and progressivism.
The Vice President said young people are often impulsive and aggressive. "Capitalizing on these characteristics," he said, "the Communists are past masters in infiltrating youth organizations with disguised Communist thoughts. Pretending to be nationalists and chanting the slogans of progressives, they worm their way into youth organizations to carry out indoctrination and take control. Many honest and talented people have been misled and had their careers ruined by Communist trickery.".
Participants came from , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and .
Vice President Yen told a nine-year education review conference that the system must be strengthened and perfected. He urged improvement in the quality of teaching, curricula and teaching methods. More than 200 educators and officials participated.
Curator Chiang Fu-tsung said the was studying the possibility of a youth museum to give young people a better understanding of Chinese culture. He said the big museum's displays may be too complex and varied to give youngsters a clear understanding of how Chinese civilization developed.
The will cooperate with in establishing a Chinese arts study institute. Classrooms, dormitories and other facilities will be provided for both Chinese and foreign students.
Chiang said the museum provided about two-fifths of its own support last year through the sale of admission tickets. The rest of the money came from the government.
Visitors totaled nearly 4 million in the last six years, of whom more than 1 million were foreigners Volume is rising steadily. The number was nearly 800,000 last year and close to 450,000 for the first six months of 1971. More than 150 foreign scholars have come to to study the museum's collection of nearly a quarter million Chinese cultural treasures.
Education Minister Lo Yun-pin said leading universities were compelled to set a quota for women students and that this was not discriminatory or a violation of the Constitution. He was explaining the measure to the Education Committee of the Legislative Yuan. Most male legislators were favorable. All but one female legislator expressed opposition.
Girls have come to dominate some areas of higher education, especially the humanities and social sciences.
The first computer class for elementary children graduated a class of 16. Pupils had been recommended by six schools and received 12 hours of special training. Experimentation in other countries suggests that computer-skilled students progress much faster than those using time-honored methods of learning.
The and International Senior Vocational School of Commerce and Industry, both in , signed a contract for use of an NCR Century 100 computer for administration and teaching purposes.
Primary school attendance has climbed to 98.1 per cent. The rate is 98.97 per cent and rates for the offshore islands of and Kinmen are 98.54 and 97.89, respectively. The boys' figure is 98.25 and that of the girls 97.7.
Thirty-one colleges and universities admitted 27,811 freshmen, or 34.87 per cent of the 78,872 who took the joint entrance examination.
The Youth Guidance Committee of the Executive Yuan set out to find what happened to the 65.13 per cent who didn't make it. Of those who returned questionnaires, 67 per cent said they had found satisfactory alternatives, 25.4 per cent still hoped for further education and only 7.7 per cent were idle or looking for jobs. Only 76.16 per cent were fully satisfied with life in the wake of exam failure.
's first graduate institute of library science is opening this fall. The National Central Library is sponsoring the 10-month program with the financial assistance of the Asia Foundation. Libraries of arc seriously short of qualified personnel. Only 16 per cent of academic librarians have had formal training.
General Instruments of Taiwan Ltd. is opening an education-employment coordination program in cooperation with the Tungnan Institute of Technology and several middle and vocational schools in the Hsintien area. GIT, which has 8,900 employees, makes more than 50 products. The college will accept students who have worked for GIT three years and are recommended by the company.
Twenty-nine senior high and senior vocational schools are sponsoring a new School of the Air. There will be no entrance examination. Either a junior high school diploma or two years of junior high school plus a year of self-study is required. The tuition will be US$ year. Graduates will receive certificates which will make them eligible for the joint college entrance examination.
The period of study will be three years with classes on the air from 6 to the morning and 10 to 12 at night. Programs will be carried by the new China Television Service, which goes on the air in October. Various colleges and universities will cooperate in programming courses. Among the offerings will be business administration, marketing, economics, mathematics, teaching methods, Chinese literature, Chinese history and Constitution.
Low production and inadequate income arc the basic faults of farming, according to Dr. T. H. Shen, chairman of the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction. Between 1952 and 1966, productivity of farmers increased by 99 per cent while that of industrial workers was rising by 220 per cent. Per capita income of farmers rose from NT$1,242, to NT$5,103 between 1952 and 1969. That of non-farmers increased from NT$2,175 to NT$ the same period.
Dr. Shen said farmers had failed to adapt to changes in the economic and culture patterns of , especially the shift from a rice-eating to a protein and vegetable-eating population. Factors in the failure, Dr. Shen said, are small farms, the rice-fertilizer exchange system, taxes, instability of farm prices, high cost of machinery and insecticide and feed, and tardy development of marketing and transportation systems.
The government decided to revise the rice-fertilizer barter system and reduce the farmer's tax burden. Farmers will be able to buy half their fertilizer for cash and obtain government loans for fertilizer. To case the tax load, farmers will be able to calculate production cost at 70 per cent of gross income instead of the present 49 per cent.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has drafted a bill to cope with farm fragmentation through inheritance. Inheritance tax would be waived if a single heir took title and farmed the land for at least five years. Deed tax would be waived in case of transfer to a single individual who farmed the property for five years. Encouragement would be given to the enlargment of farms.
Application will be made to the World Bank for a US$12 million loan for farm machinery, refrigeration, stock feed and dairying loans. Nearly three-quarters of the amount would be allocated for purchase of machinery. Farmers would pay 9 per cent on their loans.
Tax collections in the fiscal year ended last June 30 totaled more than US$620 million, an increase of 13.4 per cent, not including customs duties and salt, mining and monopoly levies. The income tax surpassed calculations and the commodity tax did not come up to expectations.
Supervision of vehicles will be moved from the Provincial to the Central Government next year. To be inaugurated July 1 is the Highway Supervision Bureau of the Communications Ministry, which will take over duties now carried out by Taiwan Provincial and . The decision was made after bus crashes which were blamed on inadequate maintenance or poor driving.
Another new agency will be the Department of Construction and Architecture under the Ministry of Interior. Increased guidance will be given the booming construction industry by sections on urban planning, architectural management, public works and national housing. Contractors will be supervised and building materials controlled.
One of the red tape nuisances for the people of has been the need to supply a copy of household registration papers as a supporting document in 397 different applications for government services. In 1969, a total of 6,900,000 copies were made at a cost in excess of US$1.5 million. The requirement has been cut to 160 cases and these will be reviewed for further reductions.
The Executive Yuan approved and sent to the Legislative Yuan a bill providing amnesties or reduction of sentences for those convicted of most crimes. Death sentences would be commuted to life and life to 10 years. Other terms would be cut in half. No commutations would be given those guilty of treason, subversion, sedition, rebellion, aiding the enemy, corruption, dope trafficking, counterfeiting, robbery, patricide and insubordination or assault on superiors. The measure is part of the Republic of China's 60th anniversary observance.