President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that economic growth could exceed 4 percent this year and expressed hope that the public would continue to support and encourage the government.
Ma said the country had been battered by a number of difficulties over the past year, including the economic downturn and the severe flooding wrought by Typhoon Morakot last August.
“But with hard work from everyone, the economic growth this year could exceed 4 percent,” he said. “Taiwan is a competitive country with lots of potential, there is room for improvement and the government will try harder to revive the economy.”
PHOTO: CNA
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) has forecast GDP growth of 4.39 percent this year, after it contracted 2.5 percent last year.
This compares with the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research's forecast GDP rise of 4.81 percent, Academia Sinica's 4.73 percent and Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research's 4.66 percent and Polaris Research Institute's 4.57 percent.
The DGBAS is scheduled to release fourth-quarter and full-year economic data on Monday.
“I hope everyone will give the government more support and encouragement to usher in a brighter tomorrow,” Ma said while wishing people a happy Lunar New Year at Ma Village (馬家庄) in Tongsiao Township (通霄), Miaoli County.
In Mandarin, “Ma Village” literally means the “village of the Ma family.” But while most of the village's residents are surnamed Ma, none of the president's ancestors or relatives have ever lived there.
Ma started paying homage at Ma Village on the second day of the lunar new year 10 years ago when he found out about the village.
Accompanied by Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) and Council for Hakka Affairs Minister Huang Yu-cheng (黃玉振), Ma paid tribute at the village's ancestral temple.
Asked whether there were fewer people lining up for his red envelopes this year, Ma said he handed out nearly 1,000 packets, which was about the same as last year.
A man who was the first in line said he had waited for four days just to give Ma some encouragement in person.
Nearby, however, a group of local farmers staged a protest against Ma, accusing the county government of destroying their farmland when it repaired the roads leading to Ma Village.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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