Now that the heated campaigns for the local government elections are over, it's time to change the subject. People should resume their normal lives, and the nation must turn its focus to pressing issues of economic development.
It's time to get to work on issues that businesses face every day -- issues such as rising competition in the global market, the demand for talented personnel and uncertainties in cross-strait policy. There are other important matters to be discussed in the second Economic Development Advisory Conference to be held sometime next month, such as the development of the service sector, the impact of China's economic rise and the nation's long-term economic goals.
Despite the challenges ahead, there's no reason to be pessimistic about the nation's economic future, at least in the near term. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.07 percent in October, the lowest in five years. Lower unemployment is likely to encourage more consumer spending and boost the economy, which the government predicts will rise 4.1 percent next year after a projected gain of 3.8 percent this year.
The stock market looks promising, too. Foreign investors have been net buyers of stocks since Oct. 31, purchasing a net NT$195 billion (US$5.82 billion) in shares and helping push the TAIEX to a close of 6,228.95 points on Friday, a 14-week high. As stable economic growth in the US will help extend exporters' fourth-quarter peak season to the first quarter, analysts have predicted that the recent momentum in the stock market will continue through early next year.
Although the economy has fared well this year, the public is pessimistic about the future and gives the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government little credit for any positive news. A Taiwan Institute of Economic Research poll released last week found that only 33.5 percent of manufacturers feel that the economy will improve in the next three to six months, down from 40.2 percent in the previous survey, while 25 percent think it will be getting worse, up from 15.6 percent the month before.
A Global Views Monthly poll last week showed that 47.8 percent of foreign companies were not satisfied with the government's handling of foreign investment, while only 10.4 percent were satisfied. Topping their concerns was direct links with China, enhancing government efficiency and stabilizing the nation's politics. These polls show little confidence in the government's economic policy.
Pundits have predicted that the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) big win will pressure the DPP into moving toward opening Taiwan more to China. But it remains to be seen whether the DPP's loss will prompt the government to dramatically change its stance on cross-strait policy, since the party's defeat was caused more by a series of corruption scandals than any other factors.
The test for the government now is whether it can take action, keep its word and be consistent in its economic policy. For instance, the chipmaking industry is expecting that the government will honor a promise made a year ago to allow two more chipmakers to invest in China by the end of this year. Those are commitments the government must keep -- all the other talk before Saturday's vote was just high-flying campaign rhetoric that should now be forgotten.
In an article published in Newsweek on Monday last week, President William Lai (賴清德) challenged China to retake territories it lost to Russia in the 19th century rather than invade Taiwan. “If it is really for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t China take back Russia?” Lai asked, referring to territories lost in 1858 and 1860. The territories once made up the two flanks of northern Manchuria. Once ceded to Russia, they became part of the Russian far east. Claims since then have been made that China and Russia settled the disputes in the 1990s through the 2000s and that “China
China has successfully held its Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, with 53 of 55 countries from the African Union (AU) participating. The two countries that did not participate were Eswatini and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which have no diplomatic relations with China. Twenty-four leaders were reported to have participated. Despite African countries complaining about summit fatigue, with recent summits held with Russia, Italy, South Korea, the US and Indonesia, as well as Japan next month, they still turned up in large numbers in Beijing. China’s ability to attract most of the African leaders to a summit demonstrates that it is still being
Trips to the Kenting Peninsula in Pingtung County have dredged up a lot of public debate and furor, with many complaints about how expensive and unreasonable lodging is. Some people even call it a tourist “butchering ground.” Many local business owners stake claims to beach areas by setting up parasols and driving away people who do not rent them. The managing authority for the area — Kenting National Park — has long ignored the issue. Ultimately, this has affected the willingness of domestic travelers to go there, causing tourist numbers to plummet. In 2008, Taiwan opened the door to Chinese tourists and in
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Thursday was handcuffed and escorted by police to the Taipei Detention Center, after the Taipei District Court ordered that he be detained and held incommunicado for suspected corruption during his tenure as Taipei mayor. The ruling reversed an earlier decision by the same court on Monday last week that ordered Ko’s release without bail. That decision was appealed by prosecutors on Wednesday, leading the High Court to conclude that Ko had been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and it ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Video clips
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