How is Taiwan's economy going to fare? The ruling party has to be optimistic, while opposition parties invariably give it a thumbs-down. But President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) once said, "The worst times have passed." Not many people agree with him.
A state leader has no right to feel pessimistic. Even if he gets an alarming economic report, the next minute he still has to talk with confidence about the country's prospects.
Recently US President George W. Bush bluntly said that the prospects for the US economy were not good. The media and the Democratic Party lashed out at him for forgetting his position and spreading pessimistic opinions that could affect consumer confidence.
Some in the media also ridiculed Bush, saying that it served him right because he had forgotten the rules of the Washington game, whereby the media pours cold water on people, and the president plays the part of the silly optimist.
Although Bush was given a tongue-lashing, no one ever said to him "It's the economy, stupid!" Bush has been in office for only a few months, but a tax-cut plan as thick as a book has already been sent to Congress. Even Democrats had to follow his lead, presenting a short-term tax-cut scheme of US$60 billion.
Democrats have been criticized all along as "knee-jerk liberals," and it is natural for them to boycott Bush. But when it comes to the tax-cut issue, unless Democrats can come up with a better project, they have no choice but to sit down with White House staff or Republican Congressmen and talk.
Even though Chen has been president for several more months than Bush, he is yet to come up with a "chef's speciality" like the tax-cut scheme. The daily fare here is either leftovers from the previous government or overly packed frozen foods from the new government, both of which spoil everyone's appetite. More and more people are so dissatisfied with the menu that they are turning over the tables and smashing the bowls. Some simply leave to eat Shanghai cuisine or roast Beijing duck.
But it is very difficult for Chen to roll out a policy specialty of his own. Over the past few months, many companies have closed up shop or reduced their personnel, pushing the unemployment rate to new highs and gradually pulling down the economic growth rate. Everyone can see their savings shrinking.
If government officials regard these facts as isolated cases, and believe that other countries are worse off than Taiwan, or that the economy has bottomed out, or that slogans can save everything, then even if they have a sense of crisis, they will never be sensitive enough to identify it as a lethal crisis.
Moreover, all the financial and economic experts that the DPP can rally seem to have taken all the related posts in the government. No wonder those in power are under the false impression that if these experts fail to boost the economy, either the opposition parties or civil service officials must be at fault. High-ranking officials are busy every day finding excuses to shirk their responsibility. How can they have the time and energy to govern the country?
All bureaucrats are the president's enemies. If Chen wants to learn from Bush, he should immediately organize a financial and economic think tank comprising people from academia and industry. The think tank should spend a few months studying a practical, slogan-free economic program. Chen will gain a lot of credit for just doing this one thing correctly over the next few months. If he receives criticism for trying to save the economy, it will still be worth it.
RSS