The People First Party (PFP) took aim at the sorry state of the nation's economy yesterday, warning it has not yet hit bottom as Taiwan's upcoming WTO entry could further raise the unemployment rate.
"Under the DPP administration, the economy has kept sliding and unemployment has risen in the last 18 months," PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) said at an appearance in Taoyuan to drum up support for fellow legislative candidate Cheng Chin-ling (鄭金玲).
"The situation may grow even worse if the government fails to take the necessary steps to cushion the impact of WTO membership may have on the domestic market."
Soong noted that the past weeks have seen consumer panic as hordes have lined up to buy rice wine, which will see its price skyrocket once Taiwan formally joins the trade body on Jan. 1.
The trend of globalization is expected to push more domestic workers out of a job, as traditional industries continue to move their production lines to China and other neighboring countries where labor costs are lower.
But the government, Soong said, has done nothing to address the problem except ask people to remain confident in its leadership.
The PFP chairman said he could not hold back his tears on Friday when he toured Nantou and saw that many people, dispossessed by the fatal 921 earthquake, remain homeless.
Soong said he understood the pain of having no place to call home, as he was unable to return to the party which he had called his own for a long time.
"As you all know, former KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui (
"I must now stand firm and resist the call to rejoin the KMT to avoid being looked down upon."
Soong, a former KMT secretary-general under Lee, broke ranks with the party to run in last year's presidential race as an independent. He finished a close second and founded the PFP weeks later.
He also urged the KMT to stop talking of his return.
The PFP leader praised Cheng as a faithful comrade, who had bravely defended him within the KMT before the party threw her out.
"Please help Cheng win a second term by casting your ballot for her on Dec. 1," Soong said, who outdid rivals in the county with 413,370 votes in the presidential election last year.
Meanwhile, PFP Vice Chairman Chang Chau-hsiung (
"The DPP administration is teeming with officials who don't even bother to do their homework," Chang said.
He added that the PFP has named several economic and financial experts as its legislative candidates in the hope of helping the nation find a cure to its economic woes.
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