The Presidential Office yesterday defended President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “6-3-3” economic policy, saying it was announced before the global economic downturn, that Ma had not abandoned it and that it would apply until 2016.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chih (王郁琦) said that the administration would strive to achieve its goals in spite of the global economic slump.
“2016 is the year by which we plan to achieve all three goals. It does not mean that we have to wait until 2016 to accomplish them all,” he said. “As long as the global economy recovers, it is possible that we can achieve some of the goals earlier.”
Wang made the remarks in response to media inquiries about Ma’s comments that his “6-3-3” campaign pledge was unlikely to be realized anytime soon, but he hoped it could be achieved by 2016 — the end of a possible two terms in office.
The “6-3-3” economic policy refers to the goal of achieving annual GDP of 6 percent, annual per capita income of US$30,000, and an unemployment rate of less than 3 percent.
During an interview with the Mexican daily Sol de Mexico on Aug. 26 — the Chinese transcript of which was released by the Presidential Office on Wednesday — Ma said it would be difficult to reach the goal of 6 percent GDP now or within the next year because of the state of the global economy.
Wang yesterday said that Ma’s remarks were intended to bring to the public’s attention the deterioration of the global economy and to advise people to brace themselves for further economic difficulty.
Amid calls for Ma to reshuffle his Cabinet and to apologize for failing to deliver on his election promises, Wang refused to comment.
“We will do our best to reach the goals,” he said.
Wang said that Ma made more than 400 campaign promises and each has its own timetable.
Using the weekend cross-strait charter flights, the increase in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan and the expansion of the “small three links,” Wang said the administration had made good on its promise to implement them in July.
The “i-Taiwan 12 construction projects,” however, were an eight-year project, he said.
It was a misunderstanding that none of Ma’s election promises could be accomplished before 2016, Wang said.
When asked whether Ma would keep the promise he made during a presidential debate that he would donate half of his salary if he failed to reach the “6-3-3” goals by the end of his first term in office, Wang said that Ma had been referring to the goal of reaching US$30,000 annual GDP per capita by 2016 rather than all of the “6-3-3” goals by 2012.
Minister Without Portfolio Chen Tian-jy (陳添枝) said yesterday that the government did not view the recent slump in the domestic stock market as a signal of an economic downturn, but that the government would keep an eye on future fluctuations in stock prices.
The government would act should the stock market continue to fall “for abnormal reasons,” Chen told a press conference following the weekly Cabinet meeting, but he did not elaborate on what measures could be taken.
He said the decline in the stock market was a result of adjustments in the international funds’ portfolios following the US subprime mortgage crisis and not a loss of confidence in the economy.
Ma’s recent remarks that it would take eight years to achieve the “6-3-3” campaign pledge was the reason behind the recent slump in prices, Chen said.
Chen said that in the economic White Paper published during the presidential campaign, Ma vowed to invest NT$3.9 trillion (US$122.46 billion) over eight years in order to create 120,000 new job opportunities a year and push the growth rate up to 6 percent.
In the white paper, Ma said that his economic proposals would raise per capita income to US$20,000 by 2011 and to US$30,000 in 2016 and would reduce the unemployment rate to below 3 percent in four years, Chen said.
When questioned by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators William Lai (賴清德) and Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) in the legislature’s plenary session on May 30, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said that the Cabinet would resign if it could not achieve the goals in four years.
Executive Yuan Spokeswoman Vanessa Shih (史亞平) said that the Cabinet would make every effort to implement Ma’s economic policies.
Meanwhile, DPP legislators criticized Ma, saying that he had cheated voters and should apologize for failing to deliver and reshuffle his Cabinet.
“When Ma proposed his ‘6-3-3’ policy, he did not say that it would take eight years to accomplish. As a presidential term is four years, people expected results within four years,” DPP legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said at a press conference.
“The people voted for Ma hoping for a better economy, but now that dream has gone. Instead Taiwan is facing economic regression and the government has no way to solve it,” DPP Department of Culture and Information Director Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said.
Ma owes the public an apology, the DPP caucus said, adding that he should consider naming a new premier capable of delivering on his campaign promises.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators defended Ma.
KMT caucus Secretary-General Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) said Ma did not intend to deceive the voters with his “6-3-3” policy and urged the public to give the administration more time.
KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) praised Ma’s honesty.
“He modified his promise after realizing that there was a gap between [his] ideal and the reality ... He was facing the reality honestly,” she said.
When asked for comment, KMT Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) expressed confidence Ma would reach his “6-3-3” goals within four to five years, saying that the increase in international crude oil prices and global inflation were expected to fall in the near future.
But KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) said Ma should consider replacing Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) if his goals were not reached in four years.
A Taiwanese YouTuber suspected of creating and selling deepfake porn videos featuring more than 100 politicians and influencers was on Monday released on bail after being arrested the previous day. Chu Yu-chen (朱玉宸), 26, who uses the name Xiaoyu (小玉) on YouTube, was arrested on Sunday in New Taipei City, along with two suspected accomplices, a 24-year-old YouTuber surnamed Yeh (耶), known as Shaiw Shaiw (笑笑), and a 22-year-old man Chuang (莊). The three suspects were on Monday escorted to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for further questioning on suspicion of distributing obscene videos and publicly insulting others, in contravention of
ANTI-COERCION: EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said the EU wishes to bolster relations with Taiwan within the framework of its ‘one China’ policy The EU is to further its engagement with Taiwan to defend democracy, freedom and an open market, while bolstering cooperation in semiconductor supply chains, EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said on Tuesday. In her remarks at a European Parliament plenary session focused on Taiwan-EU relations, Vestager referred to China’s increasing military presence in the Taiwan Strait, including flying missions off the southwest coast of Taiwan. “This display of force may have a direct impact on European security and prosperity,” she said, adding that the EU encourages all parties to avoid any unilateral actions that might increase tensions across the Strait. “We Europeans
DOWN, NOT OUT: The election was not a total defeat, as Chen still received 73,433 votes against the recall, and his party has ‘grown up’ through the process, he said Voters in Taichung yesterday recalled Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟), making him the first legislator in the nation’s history to lose a recall election. A total of 77,899 votes were cast to recall Chen, while 73,433 voted against, the Taichung City Election Commission said, adding that 51.72 percent of the city’s second electoral district turned out. The Central Election Commission is to confirm the final figures within the next seven days, it said. Commission data showed that there are 294,976 eligible voters in the second district, comprised of Dadu (大肚), Shalu (沙鹿), Longjing (龍井), Wufong (霧峰) and Wurih (烏日) districts. Chen won
MILITARY RESOLVE: Washington does not want a cold war with Beijing, it just wants ‘China to understand that we’re not going to step back,’ Biden told a CNN town hall The US would come to Taiwan’s defense and has a commitment to defend the nation China claims as its own, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday, although the White House later said there was no change in policy toward Taiwan. “Yes, we have a commitment to do that,” Biden said at a CNN town hall meeting when asked if the US would come to the defense of Taiwan, which has been facing mounting military and political pressure from Beijing to accept Chinese sovereignty. While Washington is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, it has long
RSS