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.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS