From July, the fuel prices will be adjusted monthly under a floating pricing mechanism that the CPC adopted in September 2007 but was suspended by the DPP.

The announcement caused immediate traffic chaos all over the country as drivers rushed to gas stations, apparently choosing to spend more than an hour queuing in order to save a few hundred dollars on their tank of gas.

DPP lawmakers criticized the new government for the price hike, and especially the timing for the announcement because it forced people to form long lines at gas stations.

Liu said there was no standard answer to the question concerning when the best time is for such an announcement because consumers would take the same action no matter when the price rises take effect.

The swift and decisive decision made by the premier was also intended to battle the widespread hoarding of oil products.

The moving up of the timetable for the price hike will help ease the widespread anticipation of new upward price adjustments, Liu told reporters.

Hoarding highly flammable oil products may cause public safety hazards.

Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (FPCC), the oil giant in the private sector, is expected to follow suit soon to raise its prices to around the same levels as CPC's.

As for the anticipated raise in electricity rates, Premier Liu said the decision will be announced at a later date for implementation in July.

But he emphasized that the government will also adopt a package, of measures, including exempting households with monthly power consumption under 110 kilowatt-hours from any price adjustment to help promote energy saving and cutting down on waste.

In addition to the rising fuel costs, the DPP administration was responsible for the deterioration of the financial standing of the state-run Taiwan Power Co. after it suspended the ongoing construction work of a new nuclear power plant.

The DPP action not only cost Taipower and taxpayers a lot of money from compensation to contractors, but also severely delayed the construction work to force consumers to pay much higher energy costs.

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