The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday hit back at Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who had, during Saturday’s televised debate, criticized KMT presidential candidate Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) proposal to boost economic growth by promoting pay raises, saying that she was “telling bare-faced lies.”
“In 2014, seven Nobel Prize winners urged US President Barack Obama to implement wage increases to drive economic growth. Last year, more than 600 economists also called on the US government to impose a minimum wage hike for the same reason,” Chu’s campaign spokesman Lee Cheng-hao (李正皓) told a press conference in Taipei.
Lee said such a plan was a relatively new concept in academia and has been welcomed in the US, where more than 7 million workers have benefited from its application.
Photo: Huang Mei-chu, Taipei Times
Tsai’s remark that she had not heard of any foreign nation implementing a similar policy showed that she was either an “economic ignoramus” or was “telling bare-faced lies,” Lee said.
Lee was referring to Tsai’s comments at the second and final TV presidential debate, where she dismissed Chu’s proposed policy to boost the economy by raising the national minimum wage to NT$30,000 (US$907) from NT$20,008.
“The economic problems faced by nations around the world would not be that complicated if governments could prop up weak economic growth simply by increasing salaries,” Tsai said during the debate.
“If your [Chu’s] proposal could work as you claimed, then you surely will have a Nobel Prize coming your way. However, unfortunately, I have not seen any successful cases in other nations,” she said.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Lee Ming-hsien (李明賢) said Tsai also proposed raising the minimum wage to NT$22,000 when she ran for president in 2011.
“Tsai came to that number on the estimation that each worker had an average monthly living expense of NT$9,800 and was required to feed 1.25 people. Given that the current monthly living expense per person is estimated at NT$12,840, each employee would need NT$28,890 per month, which is close to Chu’s proposed NT$30,000,” Lee Ming-hsien said.
Chu’s proposed salary hike was calculated using the same formula as the one Tsai resorted to in 2011, Lee Ming-hsien said, adding that he was curious about who real Tsai is, “the one we see now or the one from five years ago.”
Lee accused Tsai of flip-flopping on the issue, saying that she had repeatedly pledged to stand with workers, but she has left workers behind and neglected their rights and welfare.
Starbucks Taiwan’s decision to charge for drink customization, which had been free, has sparked consumer backlash, highlighting the challenge of raising prices without making customers feel they are losing value, experts said. Since Oct. 12, customers who order drinks with less or no ice and ask to have the volume topped up with milk or other liquid have been charged an additional NT$15. Topping off drinks without ice was previously free, and disgruntled customers posted photos on social media showing that iced drinks ordered without ice were only half full if the extra NT$15 was not paid. The posts drew tens of thousands
A sea warning for Typhoon Champi might be issued tonight, while the storm’s trajectory would determine whether a land warning is to be issued tomorrow night, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Champi was about 1,536km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), packing maximum sustained winds of 198kph, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said. The storm was moving west-northwest at 23kph and was expected to strengthen over the next 24 hours before weakening slightly as it approaches cooler waters east of Taiwan, Tseng said. Champi is expected to turn north tomorrow, with the angle of the
A patrol vessel donated by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to the Philippines would not be used in waters near Taiwan or areas where Taiwanese fishing vessels operate, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. The vessel, formerly the CGA's 500-tonne-class Kinmen (金門), was commissioned into the Philippine Coast Guard on Oct. 2. Speaking at the Legislative Yuan, Cho said the Philippines had pledged during the donation process that the vessel would be used only for designated missions and would not operate in waters related to Taiwan. The vessel could even provide assistance to Taiwan if needed, he added. Responding to questions from Chinese
EXPLANATION: Tsai said he attended events featuring various interviewees to observe them firsthand as part of his interview research Television host Kevin Tsai (蔡康永) last night broke his silence over a controversy surrounding his appearance at a campaign event for Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋), saying he had never supported Taiwan independence. “I have always hoped for friendly cross-strait relations. I have never supported Taiwan independence,” Tsai wrote in a post on the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo. Tsai, who has hosted television shows in China, attended the opening of Shen’s campaign headquarters on Oct. 4, drawing criticism from Chinese social media users and prompting some Chinese companies to distance themselves from him. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
RSS