A few days ago, Premier Yu Shyi-kun reaffirmed his ideals of promoting a humanist spirit and simplicity in government. The words mirror the man. We have great admiration for the premier, however, we would like to submit our suggestions, to the "combative Cabinet."
Traffic problems are a major concern of the public. Although there is never any shortage of policy suggestions on the issue, many of them are simply rub-bish. Some major projects are proposed in order to fulfil campaign promises, as well as to boost the economy. These construction projects, which cost hundreds of billions of dollars, usually drag on for years.
Other projects are proposed in order to improve local infrastructure. These projects usually wipe out the budgets of local governments. This has gone on now for a few decades, but the public's dissatisfaction with thetraffic situation continues to grow despite the plethora of projects. The problems lie mostly in the uncertainty and inconsistency of transport policy.
The National Eastern Freeway (東部國道), the National Central Cross-island Highway (中橫國道) and the National Southern Cross-island Freeway (南橫國道) construction projects have featured frequently as election issues. But they have never been taken seriously by our transport authorities.
It would also seem premature to welcome the proposed international airport in central Taiwan given the size of its likely market. Given its financial difficulties, the government should not be proposing such a major project which has the effect of causing other construction projects to be neglected. Why propose such a grand project when it is of such questionable value?
It is not good policy to seek to boost tourism in eastern Taiwan by building freeways and allowing cars to rush to the east on weekends and holidays. Local residents may not profit from such investments, while tourist spots may suffer because of large crowds. What we should do is encourage our tourists to use local transport. The government must not ruin the environment of the east by building freeways that are not of much use.
The total budget for the above freeway constructions is estimated to be NT$300 billion. If we were to take one-tenth of that budget to create a special fund to develop eastern Taiwan, annual interest on the fund would be as high as NT$1.5 billion. That would be quite sufficient to enable us to subsidize the tourist industry, as well as to train local tour guides. We truly believe that this is a transport policy that is manageable, practical and feasible.
Last, and most frequently forgotten, the government has lacked the necessary will and therefore failed to make a substantial input into improving traffic in urban areas for many years. As globalization continues, the world's major cities have to compete with one another. A city without an efficient mass rapid transit system will never have an opportunity to play a significant role on the world stage. Insufficient or unpunctual transportation is an economic weakness; chaotic traffic reduces people's quality of life. How can Taiwan attract talent and develop a knowledge-based economy under such circumstances?
Issues ranging from investments in transportation and improvement of bus services to the enactment of the Mass Transportation Act (大眾運輸條例) must all be included in the Cabinet's action plan so that we can develop a highly pragmatic transportation policy.
Wang Ching-ruey is chairman of the Chinese Institute of Transportation; Chiang Yu-sheng is a director of the CIT; Hochen Tan is also a director of the CIT and former executive vice minister of transportation and communications.
Two sets of economic data released last week by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) have drawn mixed reactions from the public: One on the nation’s economic performance in the first quarter of the year and the other on Taiwan’s household wealth distribution in 2021. GDP growth for the first quarter was faster than expected, at 6.51 percent year-on-year, an acceleration from the previous quarter’s 4.93 percent and higher than the agency’s February estimate of 5.92 percent. It was also the highest growth since the second quarter of 2021, when the economy expanded 8.07 percent, DGBAS data showed. The growth
In the intricate ballet of geopolitics, names signify more than mere identification: They embody history, culture and sovereignty. The recent decision by China to refer to Arunachal Pradesh as “Tsang Nan” or South Tibet, and to rename Tibet as “Xizang,” is a strategic move that extends beyond cartography into the realm of diplomatic signaling. This op-ed explores the implications of these actions and India’s potential response. Names are potent symbols in international relations, encapsulating the essence of a nation’s stance on territorial disputes. China’s choice to rename regions within Indian territory is not merely a linguistic exercise, but a symbolic assertion
More than seven months into the armed conflict in Gaza, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the risk of genocide following a case brought by South Africa regarding Israel’s breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The international community, including Amnesty International, called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties to prevent further loss of civilian lives and to ensure access to life-saving aid. Several protests have been organized around the world, including at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and many other universities in the US.
Every day since Oct. 7 last year, the world has watched an unprecedented wave of violence rain down on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories — more than 200 days of constant suffering and death in Gaza with just a seven-day pause. Many of us in the American expatriate community in Taiwan have been watching this tragedy unfold in horror. We know we are implicated with every US-made “dumb” bomb dropped on a civilian target and by the diplomatic cover our government gives to the Israeli government, which has only gotten more extreme with such impunity. Meantime, multicultural coalitions of US