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DPP rejects optimistic forecasts

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday criticized President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for his optimistic forecasts about the nation’s economic prospects, adding that the predictions would hurt the public if they did not come true.

Ma on Sunday said during an address that he expected GDP to see growth again in the second quarter next year.

Ma said he was confident the nation would soon recover from the effects of the global financial crisis, not because of his leadership but because of the Taiwanese spirit.

DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) told a press conference that Ma was boasting without offering any evidence to support his forecast. If the public again trusts Ma’s statements and invest in the stock market, they could be in for trouble if their investments failed, he said.

“I was concerned about Ma’s repeated, irresponsible remarks about the economy,” Lai said, adding that the administration had been fooling the public.

Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) has apologized for predicting that the TAIEX could rise as high as 20,000 points under the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration, while Ma has not met his 6-3-3 campaign promise, Lai said.

The promise referred to 6 percent annual GDP growth, 3 percent unemployment and an average annual income of US$30,000.

Ma said during the address that his administration would create about 300,000 jobs in the following four years, with the first 100,000 created within the next six months. He said that after guaranteeing deposits at all banks to stabilize the domestic financial market, the administration had proposed a four-year, NT$500 billion (US$15.2 billion) economic stimulus package to pull the economy out of its rut.
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