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President urges unity to revitalize economy

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday acknowledged the challenge presented by a slowing economy and urged all political parties to join hands in reviving the economy.

“We are facing an economic chill and a contracting economy has become the biggest issue confronting the nation,” Ma said in an interview in the Chinese-language United Evening News.

Ma said the Cabinet had presented various policies to revive the economy, but acknowledged that implementing the policies would be a challenge.

“We will observe the execution capability of all government agencies and push for the implementation of these policies,” he said.

Responding to questions about the Cabinet's proposal to issue consumer vouchers to stimulate the economy, Ma said it was a joint decision that he made with Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄).

The Cabinet announced on Tuesday it would issue NT$3,600 in consumer vouchers to each citizen to stimulate consumption.

Ma said the consumer vouchers could encourage citizens to spend at a time when the economy was slowing and hopefully the effect would turn out better than a similar plan in Japan.

The government will continue to seek measures to expand domestic demand and increase investment to improve the economy in the long run, he said.

“Issuing consumer vouchers is only one measure to meet an urgent need ... I have also been seeking opinions to see what else we can do to revive the economy,” he said.

In another interview on Thursday, Ma was apologetic over the government's failure to realize his campaign promise of achieving 6 percent economic growth, conceding that growth was unlikely to exceed 3 percent next year.

“Although the government is making a lot of efforts, it will not be able to meet public expectations given the prevailing environment. The government understands what the public feels and has to bear the consequences,” Ma said during an interview with CTI TV Station.

Ma said the Cabinet would try its best to lead the nation out of current economic difficulties and urged all political parties to set aside ideological differences to tackle this crisis.

Asked to comment on calls for a Cabinet reshuffle, Ma said he did not rule out the idea, but declined to confirm whether he would make any changes before the Lunar New Year holidays.

Ma also defended his administration's efforts in foreign affairs, insisting that Taiwan's international status has not deteriorated since he took office in May.

“Taiwan has become a peacemaker in the region, and this has helped improve our international reputation ... Those who insist that I have belittled Taiwan's sovereignty are making groundless accusations,” he said.

At a separate setting yesterday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said the Ma administration should have prioritized increasing employment opportunities amid fears of a recession.

DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told a press conference she was concerned that “the government's directionless and extempore policies are leading the country into a deep recession.”

“As the government has not told us what its economic priority is, the DPP has therefore suggested that helping people find jobs should be the priority,” she said.

Noting a government report on Thursday that said the economy contracted in the third quarter and could shrink further in the coming quarters, Tsai said the DPP was concerned that poor government policies might lead the country into a deep recession and had prepared several questions on the government's economic policies and goals. Until Ma is able to answer these questions, Tsai said she would not consider meeting the president.

Urging the KMT caucus not to ignore the 27 DPP lawmakers but to respect their freedom to exercise their rights in the legislature, Tsai said she would also consider exchanging views between the DPP and KMT caucuses.

Taiwan Thinktank chairman Chen Po-chih (陳博志) told the same press conference that the government had “seriously underestimated the economic situation but refused to admit its mistakes.”

Chen said that Ma had pledged a GDP growth of 6 percent but the government reported on Thursday that GDP shrank 1.02 percent in the third quarter from a year ago and could contract another 1.73 percent in the fourth quarter, dragging down this year's full-year growth rate to 1.87 percent, from the 4.3 percent it estimated in August.

Although the unemployment rate rose to 4.27 percent in September, the government still insists it would drop to 3 percent next year, Chen said.

If GDP growth were to drop to 3 percent, the unemployment rate would rise by 1 percent, Chen said, adding that the government was fooling the public with its claims.

Chen added that the government had focused its efforts on bolstering the stock market but has nothing to show for it after six months.
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