Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) economic policies, describing them as products of an “outdated mindset” that belong to the previous century.
“Taiwan’s economy is stuck in a rut; it is as if someone has hit the ‘pause’ button while watching TV,” Tsai said during a rally in Kaohsiung. “From a macroeconomic perspective, Taiwan failed to achieve even 1 percent GDP growth in the past quarter and the [average] salary is the same as that of 15 years ago. Oveseas relocation of the nation’s industries has also become a major issue; although businesses seem to be making money, the majority of investments, purchases, and employment do not benefit Taiwan anymore, as production facilities have been relocated overseas.”
She said the economy faces an even bigger challenge, as any economic growth that occurs is not equitably shared, and the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen.
Photo: CNA
The cause of the hiatus in growth and economic injustice is the KMT’s outdated mindset when it comes to formulating economic policy, she said.
“The KMT has come up with some policy ideas aimed at lifting the economy, but these proposals would only have worked in the past century, when global demand was strong, profits were high in the manufacturing industry and the export market was strong,” Tsai said. “However it is the 21st century now; the world has changed, but the KMT is still sticking to its antiquated ideas.”
Tsai said the KMT’s anachronistic approach to economic policymaking can be seen in its over-reliance on tax cuts and subsidies and their faith in economic liberalization.
“The fact is that the government does not know what to do, so it does nothing, and leaves everything to the market,” Tsai said. “And it blames the DPP for the problem, saying that the recession has been caused by our opposition to the cross-strait service trade agreement and the free economic pilot zones — do you think that is fair?”
The DPP believes that the key to economic growth is upgrading and transforming the industrial sector and a DPP government would implement policies to attract more investment, encourage businesses to innovate and make sure that the distribution of wealth is fair, she said.
Tsai said that if she is elected, she would invest the majority of the national defense budget into developing domestically produced military hardware and technology, which would encourage growth in related high-tech industries, adding that her proposal to develop domestically built submarines would benefit the ship-building industry in Kaohsiung.
Taiwan does not exclude the possibility of having formal diplomatic relations with countries that also have formal ties with China, regardless of Beijing’s stance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Sunday. There was speculation in 2012 that Honduras was attempting to have simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taiwan and China, an idea that then-minister of foreign affairs David Lin (林永樂) rejected. Honduras severed formal ties with Taiwan on Sunday morning after establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has taken a more practical approach to relations with like-minded countries since assuming government in 2016. Previous administrations took the
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
Taiwan would have established formal relations with Argentina long ago if not for China’s interference, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui told US-based Spanish-language online news outlet Infobae in an interview published on Tuesday. Beijing has left behind a string of unfulfilled promises in Latin America, including pledges to build the Grand Nicaragua Canal and airports, docks, ports and industrial zones in El Salvador, he said. Meanwhile, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and other countries enjoy pragmatic and improving relations with Taiwan based on cooperation on the economy, culture, technology and science, he said. While Taiwan is “happy to live and let live,”
TASK FORCE DISPATCHED: MOFA said it would assist state employees with repatriation or relocation to other ally nations in the region after Tegucigalpa severed ties The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Monday ordered Honduras to vacate its embassy in Taiwan within 30 days of Sunday after Tegucigalpa made a similar demand of Taiwan. Taipei on Monday announced that it had cut ties with Honduras after the Central American nation earlier said in a statement that it had established ties with Beijing and ended its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan. Following the announcements, Honduran Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Garcia spoke on Honduran television saying that Taiwan would be required to vacate its embassy in the Honduran capital. In Taipei, MOFA later told a news conference that “according
RSS