Sun, Oct 28, 2001 page3

• Opposition parties take aim at DPP's economic record

  CAMPAIGN SPARRING The KMT and PFP say President Chen's leadership has resulted in higher unemployment, reduced per-capita income and a plummeting stock market

  • By Stephanie Low / STAFF REPORTER
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  Leaders of the KMT and People First Party (PFP) yesterday targeted President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the DPP for Taiwan's poor economic performance and the "unprofessional" fashion in which the nation is being governed.

  While KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) called the DPP a "dragon" in conducting an election campaign but a "worm" in dealing with the economy, PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) likened Chen to a surgeon who performs operations on his patients with a razor instead of a scalpel, which he said is making people extremely scared.

  "The economy has moved backward during the one-and-a-half years the DPP has governed the nation. Life is simply impossible for the people," Lien told the audience during a KMT campaign rally held in Panchiao, Taipei County.

  Under the DPP's leadership, Lien said, Taiwan's unemployment rate has grown to 5.2 percent, with 520,000 people now jobless, and Taiwan's per-capita income has dropped from US$14,000 to US$13,000, the same level as six years ago.

  In addition, Taiwan's stock index has dropped to about 3,000 points from 9,000 points, Lien said.

  Though the government poured as much as NT$200 billion into the stock market in an attempt to boost the market, all the investment has amounted to nothing because of the government's poor judgment, he said.

  "This money came from government coffers, which is our money," Lien said.

  Despite these facts, Lien said, Chen has refused to admit his failure but has cited the Global Competitiveness Report released recently by the World Economic Forum to try to prove his achievements.

  In the report, Taiwan's growth competitiveness ranking climbed to 7th position this year from 10th last year.

  "A politician must be honest," Lien said. "The ranking is based on last year's performance, not now. The assessment started from the time when the KMT was still in power, and the KMT only transferred the power to the DPP in May [of last year]," Lien said.

  Chen promised during his presidential campaign to stop participating in the activities of political parties and become a "president for all the people" after getting elected and has failed in this promise as well, Lien said.

  Instead of working hard to implement the policies put forth by the Economic Development Advisory Conference, Chen has recently gone on the campaign trail to stump for DPP candidates around Taiwan, Lien pointed out.

  In a different rally held by the PFP also in Taipei County, Soong attacked the lack of professionalism of Chen's administration.

  "Our nation is undergoing an operation by a surgeon holding a razor. When the illness gets worse and worse, the people get more and more frightened," Soong said.

  "It is the people who are on turbulent waters, not President Chen," Soong said.

  Soong was referring to Chen's new book entitled The Premier Voyage of the Century (世紀首航), in which Chen says the first transfer of power in the nation's history was completed in peril, like a ship sailing on turbulent seas.

  Soong said Chen, who started his political career as a people's representative, had not received sufficient training as an administrator and was not ready to assume the position of president when he was elected last year.

  Soong also blamed Taiwan's absence from the APEC summit on what he said was Chen's unprofessional decision-making, from which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Security Council were completely excluded.
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