The Cabinet yesterday approved a forecast of 3.8 percent GDP growth next year, with Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) Minister Yiing Chii-ming (尹啟銘) saying that the figure was “no exaggeration.”
When the council revealed the forecast last week, Yiing promised to give up his year-end bonus if the target was not reached next year.
Under the development plan for next year approved by the Cabinet, the council projected an unemployment rate below 4.1 percent and consumer price index of no more than 2 percent.
At a press conference yesterday, Yiin said that the forecast was determined based on cautious assessments of supply and demand factors and views offered by officials at the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics and at the central bank, as well as academics.
“The 3.8 percent GDP growth target is not unreachable, and it’s not just me saying so,” Yiin said, citing as references the World Bank ‘s prediction of 4 percent GDP growth in Taiwan next year, the Asia Development Bank’s 3.8 percent and the IMF’s 3.9 percent.
Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) has estimated that the nation will see 3.88 percent GDP growth next year, while Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute (元大寶來研究院) forecast the GDP would expand 3.85 percent, Yiin said.
The council predicted that between next year and 2016, the average economic growth rate will be 4.5 percent annually, the consumer price index will be kept under 2 percent and the unemployment rate will be reduced to below 3.9 percent by 2016.
Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) said that the forecast was challenging and reflected the Cabinet’s ambition and determination to deliver economic recovery.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for