Building global ties
After returning from a backpacking trip in Taiwan, I can see why this nation wants to maintain its independence from the People’s Republic of China.
It is clear to me that Taiwanese live with a strong sense of freedom and enterprise that penetrates deep into society. The “new southbound policy” of extending visa-free access to ASEAN member states is just another example of this: A small nation with a growing tourist sector trying to open up its borders.
Surely this could be an example to China on how to go about building its relations with fellow global partners across the world.
Benjamin Isaacson
London
Flexible holiday solution
With the new legislative session now under way, the government’s proposed “one fixed day off and one flexible rest day” amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) will undoubtedly become a key battleground.
Less than a month after the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, Taiwan celebrates Double Ten National Day. During extended holiday periods, the low efficiency of Taiwan’s transport network and difficulty in obtaining tickets causes supply problems. In order to guarantee each person the opportunity to purchase a ticket on public transport to return home during holiday periods, it is worth considering a national holiday reform: adapting the current system of “concentrating” public holidays during one period and instead introduce a “staggered” public holiday system.
The east coast transport network during extended holiday periods is a good example: whether putting on additional train services or, as was done during the recent Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, implementing a name-based booking system, demand outstrips supply so that many people continue to be inconvenienced by the “concentrated holiday period” and are packed into overcrowded trains. Such a system even affects the quality of the holiday experience.
Taiwan has transformed from a traditional manufacturing economy into a modern service-based economy. Traditional holiday periods and public holidays have been commercialized and turned into sales platforms for businesses. Concentrated public holidays only exacerbate this trend, while adding an external cost to transportation and travel, as the cost of excessive congestion is borne by those living in remote areas of the nation and who have limited access to transportation.
If the government were able to implement a flexible, staggered public holiday policy, not only would the cost to industry be minimal, it would also help relieve “holiday anxiety” and reduce traffic accidents, while improving the quality of public holidays. It would also make holiday periods feel longer.
Adopting such a system would not only help improve economic efficiency, but it would also be a politically savvy move that would bring the government a lot of kudos. Hopefully a compromise can be reached that satisfies both employers and employees.
Sun Jung-fu
Taipei
Stan Lai’s dream
Regarding the New York Times interview of Stan Lai (賴聲川), it seems the interviewer avoided asking Lai about his involvement in the musical Dreamer — a celebration of the Republic of China’s centennial in 2011 — which cost about NT$258 million (US$8.23 million) and, directed by Lai, failed to meet the expectations of what a good musical should be. (“Theater’s evolving role in China and Taiwan,” Sept. 19, page 19). Its theme and performance were a cliche.
The two-night-only show and its high production costs shocked Taiwan’s struggling artistic community. Since then, Lai has refused to explain himself and his involvement in this scandal, having skillfully stolen money from the public coffers.
Ni Kuojung
Hsinchu
As Taiwan’s domestic political crisis deepens, the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) have proposed gutting the country’s national spending, with steep cuts to the critical foreign and defense ministries. While the blue-white coalition alleges that it is merely responding to voters’ concerns about corruption and mismanagement, of which there certainly has been plenty under Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and KMT-led governments, the rationales for their proposed spending cuts lay bare the incoherent foreign policy of the KMT-led coalition. Introduced on the eve of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the KMT’s proposed budget is a terrible opening
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
“I compare the Communist Party to my mother,” sings a student at a boarding school in a Tibetan region of China’s Qinghai province. “If faith has a color,” others at a different school sing, “it would surely be Chinese red.” In a major story for the New York Times this month, Chris Buckley wrote about the forced placement of hundreds of thousands of Tibetan children in boarding schools, where many suffer physical and psychological abuse. Separating these children from their families, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to substitute itself for their parents and for their religion. Buckley’s reporting is
Last week, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), together holding more than half of the legislative seats, cut about NT$94 billion (US$2.85 billion) from the yearly budget. The cuts include 60 percent of the government’s advertising budget, 10 percent of administrative expenses, 3 percent of the military budget, and 60 percent of the international travel, overseas education and training allowances. In addition, the two parties have proposed freezing the budgets of many ministries and departments, including NT$1.8 billion from the Ministry of National Defense’s Indigenous Defense Submarine program — 90 percent of the program’s proposed
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