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Updated Monday, October 3, 2011 11:52 pm TWN, By Grace Soong,The China Post |
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Ma vows to save Taiwan from recession“I have decided to serve as president for a total of eight years: fixing what had gone wrong and catching up with the world during the first four years, and reforming Taiwan and reaching for excellence during the latter four,” Ma claimed yesterday, at the inauguration ceremony of a supporting group formed by China-based Taiwanese businessmen, who are commonly referred to as “Taishang,” in Taipei. Wu Po-hsiung, Kuomintang (KMT) honorary chairman, publicly declared support for Ma for the first time yesterday, and Ma recounted the changes that had been achieved over the past three years and three months during his presidency. Asia had undergone drastic changes over the eight years prior to his administration, with over 58 free trade agreements signed between Asian countries; Taiwan, along with North Korea, were the only two members that had missed out on this regional integration, Ma said. Impeaching the “locked country” approach the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had taken in severing Taiwan's international connections, Ma pointed out that domestically, Taiwan's economy had also severely weakened while government corruption grew. While both Ma and former President Chen Shui-bian had to combat with the economic crisis during their administrations, the situation he was faced with was stricter, and the degree that Taiwan's economic growth had worsened and unemployment rate had risen was lesser than that of Chen's, with people's average wage increasing more during his administration, Ma said. Also, Ma claimed to have created an incorrupt government, quoting as evidence the Transparency International's global corruption report, in which Taiwan's rating has improved from the 39th ranking to the 33rd. While space for improvement still exists, Ma expressed confidence on having set a good example on not being greedy. “Reformation has begun, and Taiwan should not retrace its steps,” Ma emphasized, “I will save the nation and lead it on the right track.” Comments October 3, 2011 mordrake@ Reply We don't need another corrupt politician in power - Soong, if he had any moral fiber at all, would bow out now. The Ching Hsing bills scandal should not be forgotten, and the fact Soong tried to hide millions of NT$ - which belonged to the people, courtesy of the Chiang family - in his son's private bank account. Are you telling me Soong didn't have the sense to store it somewhere more transparent? A fine leader he would make, if his anti-corruption initiatives are imbued with such perverse judgment. October 3, 2011 newellmail@ I supported KMT for the past elections specially President Ma. However, I'm disappointed by his performance. Look at the housing price vs. salary. It seems President Ma is only for the rich people. The rich people get richer while the poor people get poorer... Very disappointed.. :-( October 3, 2011 olichu@ All I hear and read from Ma, KMT, Tsai and DPP is blah blah blah..wha wha blah wha blah....rhetoric.....translation.....vote for me cuz I am cool! High school/college politics! October 4, 2011 charles@ Housing prices rise because of a stronger economy. There are always going to be people left behind by a boost in the economy. The government can help these people by re-training them for a new career. October 4, 2011 jackchen@ It looks like the world is heading for another recession if not a severe economic downturn in 2012. The US deficit and Euro zone problems won't go away anytime soon. Maintaining a strong economic tie with China may help export-dependent Taiwan a little. "Saving Taiwan from a recession" may be too much of a wishful thinking, but there are limits to what a leader who inherited the 2008 world recession can do. How to beat a housing upward trend without causing a house price crash (and causing pain to home owners and unemployment to construction-related workers) is a problem for genius to solve. Let's hear what other candidates have as proposals for solutions. One thing that scares me is, are we ready to live in the next few years in an economic uncertainty and cross-straight tension, at the same time? October 5, 2011 mtsai16@ @ olichuI could not disagree with you more. I feel that both Ma and Tsai are pressured into this kind of circus acts just to get votes. Rah Rah Rah .... Which is why I don't mind Song entering the race. Forget about splitting the pan-blue camp. I care more about true competition, which brings out the best in all of us. Ultimately, I fault us for paying perhaps too attention to their clown acts. Ma has had his chance, and I'm no longer fond of his rhetoric. So I'm willing to give Tsai or Song a chance. However, if the new president is no different from Ma, out with the old again. October 5, 2011 glaxay0727@ I agree with president Ma yet President Ma Ying-jeou failed to handle the Typhoon Morakot 2009 that has marred his presidential career, other than the judgment on Typhoon Morakot 2009 wasn’t in a satisfactory manner. But overall, his job performance is in satisfactory when considering the impact of the global economic crisis that began in 2008). October 7, 2011 edrulyn@ I can say that President Ma Ying-jeou is still the better president to rule this island nation. Don’t expect too much from him. He wants to serve the country as best as he can. He is human like us with weakness and imperfections. Let us give him another chance. Look at the DPP political candidates. One is already following in the footsteps of the very corrupt SON OF TAIWAN former president Chen Shui-bian. October 7, 2011 johnny.brian@ KMT did not improve the economy in the last 3 years but tried to fix the problem and save Taiwan. The DPP did not improve the economy since they were in power from 2000~2008 and failed to do so and blame someone else while some politicians got a lot of money through corruption and bribery. It is difficult to choose between two of the lesser evils. I will stick with the one who can make Taiwan better than his own pocket. October 7, 2011 newellmail@ charles@ wrote: That's possibly the problem....At the end of the day...we could not ignore that housing price vs. salary is unbalanced...Housing prices rise because of a stronger economy. There are always going to be people left behind by a boost in the economy. The government can help these people by re-training them for a new career. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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