Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘), who has come under fire for predicting the TAIEX could rise as high as 20,000 under the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration, expressed regret yesterday for the “distortion” of his remarks by the media.
The prediction, which Yiin reportedly made ahead of a televised forum with business leaders before the KMT administration took office in May, has been harshly criticized in the wake of the local bourse’s slump over the past month.
After hitting a high of 9,309 on May 20, the TAIEX has fallen amid a global stock market slump. On Tuesday, it plunged 289.26 points, or 3.94 percent, to close at 7,051.85, and it failed to rebound yesterday.
Yiin said yesterday that he had said the economy would gradually improve after the new government unveiled its economic blueprint and its policies were implemented.
While he agreed that the TAIEX would rise if the economy improved, it was the host and other participants at the forum who said the index “could top 10,000 and even reach 20,000,” he said.
On Tuesday Yiin had said that he was “joking around” with business leaders when he agreed that the prediction made by others was reasonable.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers, however, demanded yesterday that Yiin apologize for what they called his “reckless and arrogant” attitude.
DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) said it was not a time to joke when the stock market had lost nearly NT$6 trillion (US$197.3 billion) since President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration and the economic misery index has hit its highest level in 27 years.
“This summer is the coldest summer” in Taiwan, she said.
“It is unbelievable that instead of putting forth measures to deal with the situation, Yiin said he was just joking to say the TAIEX could rise to 20,000,” she said.
DPP Legislator Yu Jan-daw (余政道) said Yiin should step down because his statement had misled investors, causing them huge losses.
DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said the most serious problem with Premier Liu Chao-shiuan’s (劉兆玄) Cabinet was that it was made up of reckless, arrogant officials who are totally unaware of the public’s problems.
Also see: 標題
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
RSS