US President George W. Bush has signed into law a massive bailout package for US financial institutions. The bill had initally been rejected by the House of Representatives amid concerns that spending US$700 billion of taxpayers’ money to buy up questionable assets and bail out financial companies was not socially just. However, after measures were added to protect the interests of the middle classes, such as tax cuts and exemptions, among other additions, the bill was approved by both houses of Congress.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has also been confronting a financial crisis. How does its attitude compare to that of US officials? Ma’s government has proposed a series of measures to boost the economy and stock markets. On Sept. 9 it put forward 10 proposals to revitalize the economy, but the package fell short on policies beneficial to the public at large. The government does not seem to care much about the middle class. No wonder people are growing more concerned about social injustice and less confident in the government.
The Finance Ministry’s Tax Reform Committee is scheduled to meet today amid widespread calls from industrial and commercial interests for tax cuts to help the economy. The financial team set up by the Presidential Office has not come up with any measures to revive the stock market. It has only suggested cutting inheritance and gift taxes and setting up a sovereign wealth fund, and it seems likely that the Tax Reform Committee will act in accordance with these signals. These are tax cuts for the rich, however, and only serve to shift even more of the tax burden onto the shoulders of the less affluent.
Taxation in Taiwan is not well balanced. Most government revenue comes from income taxes. Many high earning companies and individuals pay very little tax because there are so many deductions and exemptions. Sometimes the extremely wealthy manage to pay less tax than the average office worker. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) has repeatedly called on wealthy Taiwanese to bear a fairer share of the tax burden. The finance ministry is aware of the situation, but unfortunately has been insensitive to it, so government policy continues to favor the wealthy.
The government knows that the deteriorating economic situation is causing ever greater income disparity and the Ministry of the Interior has proposed a plan to subsidize families whose monthly household income falls below NT$25,000. But recipients would be chosen by computer, which means they might include teachers and military personnel, who are already exempt from taxes, while those in real need are left out. This does not meet demands for social justice, but all Minister of the Interior Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) can say is, “better luck next time.”
Even in the US, which always has stressed the importance of free markets and a free economy, lawmakers managed to squeeze measures to benefit the disadvantaged and the middle classes into its bailout plan. It makes you wonder whether Taiwan’s government — which stressed liberalization and deregulation when it took office — cares about growing income disparity nationwide and whether it has heard the complaints of the disadvantaged and the middle classes who lack the political strength to challenge the government’s financial and economic policies.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
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