President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) vowed yesterday to lead the country through the global economic recession, saying he was confident the joint efforts of the government and people would eventually succeed.
“I am here to guarantee you that the administration will do its best to create better economic conditions,” he said. “The bitter winter will pass and the spring will come. I promise I will not let you down.”
Ma made the remarks in his televised recorded Lunar New Year’s Eve address. He made the speech in Mandarin, Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) and Hakka.
PHOTO: CNA
Acknowledging the impact of the worldwide economic downturn, Ma said he realized many people had “complicated feelings” on this year’s New Year’s Eve.
He said Taiwan has experienced a lot over the past year, including the legislative and presidential elections, which were held without a hitch and the country’s democratization, which was hailed by the international community as a “beacon of democracy” for Asia and the world.
Cross-strait tension had also eased, he said, adding that direct cross-strait transportation links were launched, the country’s international profile had been raised to a higher level and the public again had confidence in the judiciary.
“However, Taiwan is also experiencing a ‘once-in-a-century’ financial storm and economic recession. Many people lost their jobs for the very first time,” he said.
The economic slowdown has indeed delivered a blow to the country, he said, but the public should not lose faith because “Taiwan is, after all, our home.”
As long as Taiwanese unite and work together, he said, he was confident the country would weather such economic adversity.
Ma spent the last day of the Year of the Rat yesterday visiting people from all walks of life to thank them for their efforts over the past year. They included firefighters, senior citizens, coast guards and police officers. He also visited various temples to pray for a prosperous Year of the Ox.
Ma began at 8:30am by visiting a tailor in Rueifang Township (瑞芳) in Taipei County before ringing the Lotus Bell at the Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist temple in Jinshan Township at 10:40pm.
Ma visited three other temples yesterday and was scheduled to visit 10 more today to mark Lunar New Year’s Day. He will also visit former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) for the second time since he took office last May. Lee has been outspoken in his criticism of Ma’s China-friendly economic policy, cross-strait policy and Japan policy.
Ma will visit five more temples tomorrow and also distribute red envelopes at Ma Village (馬家庄) in Miaoli County’s Tongsiao Township (通宵).
Ma Village’s residents are mostly surnamed Ma, but none of the Hong Kong-born president’s ancestors or relatives have ever lived there.
No public engagements have been arranged for Ma and Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.
On Friday, Ma will visit the Lin Family Gardens in Banciao (板橋), Taipei County, and attend Yo-yo Ma’s (馬友友) Lunar New Year concert at the National Concert Hall in the evening, while Siew will travel to Hualien.
Ma will visit three more temples on Saturday and attend Lunar New Year’s events in Taichung City and Kaohsiung City. He will also visit senior presidential adviser Lin Yang-kang (林洋港) in Taichung City and attend the opening ceremony of Kaohsiung City’s Lantern Festival.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
RSS