A negative example, however, is the previous administration’s idea of subsidizing travel and tourism by issuing the National Travel Card, which was abused by thousands of civil servants who used the credit card to shop for goods.
Taiwanese have for decades made a virtue of being content with what they had and not demanding much in the way of quality of life. Government departments involved in the commerce sector have all along allowed manufacturers to get away with making excessive claims for their products while failing to implement proper quality control. The result is that Taiwanese products have a poor image internationally and Taiwan’s quality of life has also suffered.
Since the Tourism Bureau ended its prize-draw scheme for tourists visiting Taiwan at the end of last year, the number of Japanese visitors has dropped by 90,000. As trade protectionism gradually raises its ugly head around the world, it has become all the more important for Taiwan to raise the quality of its export goods.
We appreciate the government’s good intentions in formulating the job-creation scheme and hope that in doing so they will use the public’s hard-earned tax money in the most effective way to improve everybody’s quality of life and provide training in suitable skills. By making wise use of available resources, the government can build up a motive force for Taiwan’s next economic takeoff.
Lu Hsin-chang is a professor in the Department of International Business at National Taiwan University.
TRANSLATED BY JULIAN CLEGG
RSS