A series of TV advertisements by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), featuring families who are barely getting by after their main earners have lost their jobs because of the nation's economic downturn, have struck a chord with voters, articulating the underlying problem of the nation's economy.
After all those heat-stirring commercials, a question might be asked "And then?"
"It's a pity that we did not see the two presidential candidates bring up any substantial solutions to improve Taiwan's labor market," said Hsu Chen-min (許振明), a professor of economics at National Taiwan University.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has said that improving the nation's economy remains high on his administration's campaign agenda after some of his previous economic stimulus efforts have borne fruit.
Laying out his campaign agenda, Chen said he wants to reduce the unemployment rate to 4 percent next year after boosting economic growth to 5 percent.
He made the remarks during the final televised presidential debate on Saturday to counter questions from KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), about the president's ability to handle economic problems.
However, Chen did not give any details about how his proposals might be accomplished.
The government's ongoing efforts to create part-time work placements for 460,000 unemployed people would only improve the job market in the short term as such makeshift measures cannot solve the underlying problems of fewer jobs resulting from dramatic changes in the nation's industries, Hsu said.
The jobless rate dropped 0.05 percent to about 4.53 percent in January, according to government statistics released in late last month, an improvement from a high of 5.21 percent last August.
Lien did offer a more detailed labor policy in his remarks during Saturday's debate. He advocated creating a special fund exclusively for unemployed women, to provide them with subsidies so they would have enough time to prepare for entering the job market.
Lien also said the government should subsidize workers who do not receive the minimum wage.
But Lien's ideas were seen as unrealistic by some commentators.
"Those measures are unlikely to be realized as the nation's deficit is piling up -- making it difficult to budget for an expansion of programs" said Huo Teh-ming (霍德明), a professor in the department of money and banking at National Chengchi University.
"Those assertions are simply a vote-seeking effort," Huo said.
Huo said the high unemployment rate is closely connected with the migration of local enterprises to China as numerous blue-collar jobs have moved offshore to China in recent years.
Huo also criticized Lien's earlier pledges to lift the ban on direct links.
Such a move could accelerate the cross-strait migration of jobs and cause large-scale job losses in this country, he said.
That fear has led to the Chen's administration caution about lifting the ban on cross-strait transportation, he added.
"An immediate relaxation could jack up the jobless rate quickly," Huo said.
"But, a gradual approach could choke those companies competitiveness as efficiency will weaken over time," he added.
Lien has said that he plans to approve the travel of freighters and other ships between Taiwan and China within one year of his election. He said he also planned to allow Taiwanese air carriers to fly the route two years after he takes office.
"As China is the fastest-growing market after the US, it is vital for local firms to develop business there. But Taiwanese executives should keep in mind [plans on] how to utilize that huge market without getting trapped there," Hsu warned.
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