On the eve of the third anniversary of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration, civic groups called on him to keep his campaign promises, claiming that the public was disappointed about the unemployment rate, high housing prices and long working hours.
Protesters gathered in front of the Taipei Guest House to perform a skit claiming that the 16 “prescriptions” that Ma has given to the country during his term so far have failed.
Taiwan has weathered the worst income disparity, stagnant unemployment, a global financial storm and a local economic downturn since Ma took office, said Son Yu-lian (孫友聯), secretary-general of the Taiwan Labor Front, one of the 13 main organizers of the protest.
He cited an online survey initiated by 13 civic groups in March that asked Internet users to vote on what it called a “Taiwan Ma Government Exposition” Web site and examine which campaign promises Ma has failed to deliver on. It received about 10,000 responses.
Ma promised during his election campaign that he would lower the unemployment rate to less than 3 percent by next year, produce a “complete housing” proposal and reduce working hours and these were the campaign promises that most of the respondents felt have not been met, Son said.
“If the government cannot carry out its promises, we will have to use our ballots to express our anger,” he said in reference to next January’s presidential and legislative elections.
The majority of the online voters also felt disappointed about gender equality education, Aboriginal policies and measures to boost the birth rate under Ma’s leadership, Son said.
According to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the unemployment rate gradually rose from the second half of 2008, following the global financial downturn.
The figure reached a peak of 6.13 percent in August 2009, but although the global economy slowly picked up, the unemployment rate stood at 4.48 percent as of March, the agency said.
Responding to a call to narrow the wealth gap and curb real estate speculation, the government will impose a 15 percent luxury tax from June 1 on properties sold within one year of purchase and a 10 percent tax on properties sold within the second year of purchase.
In addition, a 10 percent tax will be levied on certain luxury goods under the law. Taxable items include cars, yachts, airplanes, helicopters and ultralight planes that cost more than NT$3 million (US$105,000).
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS