A government Web site that aims to encourage the public to contribute ideas on how to boost the nation’s economy has drawn praise and criticism alike from the public and lawmakers.
The Central Personnel Administration (CPA) launched the Web site to solicit creative economic policy proposals on Sept. 12.
The Web site had attracted at least 100 proposals as of Wednesday and many of them were so “creative” that the CPA decided to remove them, a report in the Apple Daily said yesterday.
FLOATING SALARIES
Ideas posted on the Web site reportedly suggested that Cabinet ministers should work as volunteers or that there should be a floating salary pricing system for ministers, much like the nation’s floating oil pricing system. Some others called for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to share its party assets with the public as a way to boost the nation’s economy.
As of yesterday, none of the messages on the CPA Web site could be viewed.
CPA Minister Cheng Ching-hsiu (陳清秀) explained yesterday that the site had originally been intended to target civil servants and that the CPA’s opening of the site to the public was in line with a pledge made by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) to “listen to the voices of the people.”
Chen stressed that the government was looking at numerous ways of boosting the economy, saying “the more ideas, the better.”
PLAYING GAMES
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) accused the CPA of acting as if it were playing games.
The launch of the Web site, he said, showed that Ma and Liu had run out of ideas on how to revive the economy.
KMT Legislator Nancy Chao (趙麗雲) also frowned upon the Web site, saying that “the Cabinet should propose its own economic policies rather than rely on creative ideas from the public.”
KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), however, argued that many large companies also use the Internet to seek ideas when formulating business strategies.
Describing the Internet as “far-reaching,” Ting said the Web site could attract a lot of ideas and allow the public to brainstorm together.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND STAFF WRITER
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS