After the excitement of the presidential and legislative elections, society is cooling down and people are mending damaged relations caused by political disagreement. More importantly, the hatred and opposition between young people and the older generation must be repaired.
Leaving aside politics, the most obvious sign of the generational conflict in Taiwan is the uneven distribution of wealth.
According to UBS and PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Billionaire Insights 2019, the number of billionaires in Taiwan has increased to 40, and their total wealth has grown by US$1.1 billion.
The average age of Taiwan’s billionaires — among whom 16 are over the age of 70 — is 69, which is higher than the global average of 64, the report said.
Large inheritances are the main cause of this extremely uneven distribution of wealth and the worsening gap between rich and poor.
The government should promptly levy a wealth transfer tax on high-income groups, by raising the inheritance tax and implementing a minimum tax on high-income earners, to prevent the further widening of the wealth gap and achieve generational equity.
Rising real-estate prices have also made it increasingly difficult for young people to own their own home. Coupled with the slowdown in wage growth and the cost of raising children, there is less left for savings.
Meanwhile, older generations were able to purchase properties earlier, at a more affordable price, and as real estate has appreciated, their personal wealth has increased.
In 2018, 77 percent of Taiwan’s 8.06 million landowners were over the age of 45, and the largest portion, 28 percent, were over 65, Ministry of Finance data showed.
In contrast, during the same period, there were 560,000 landowners under the age of 34, a decrease of 62,000, or 11.2 percent. The number of landowners in the 45 to 34 age group also decreased by 59,000.
It is clear that generational inequality in asset distribution has worsened, and this is one of the reasons young people are unable to improve their situation.
As most land in Taiwan is in the hands of the elderly, young people cannot afford to buy a place to live — no matter how hard they work. This gives rise to a feeling of deprivation, making it difficult to eliminate the conflict between generations.
To solve the housing problem for young people, the government should establish a long-term, stable mechanism to promote social housing and curb investment in non-owner-occupied residential properties using policy instruments, such as financing and house taxes, to decommodify housing and resolve the paradox of high housing prices and high vacancy rates.
In Taiwan today, most social resources are in the hands of the baby boomers, who are roughly between the ages of 60 and 75.
In addition to shifting resources into welfare for the elderly, the government must also implement reasonable tax reform to address wealth distribution.
Housing justice requires that the government offer clear guarantees that housing is used for residential purposes rather than as an investment object to curb real-estate speculation.
That could perhaps reduce generational conflict and promote generational reconciliation.
Wei Shih-chang is an engineer.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with