Developing a strong economy for sustainable livelihoods is the unavoidable responsibility of a national leader and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should put his money where his mouth is, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday in response to Ma’s National Day speech.
“The biggest wish of Taiwanese on National Day is to enjoy a better standard of living, rather than watching a president talking,” Su said in Lioujiao Township (六腳), Chiayi County.
“Instead of boasting about tomorrow, I would advise the president visit local communities and gain first-hand experience of people’s suffering,” said Su, who turned down an invitation from the Presidential Office to attend the National Day ceremony.
Photo: CNA
The Ma administration has failed to listen to the people’s voice, evidenced by the president’s recent “inflammatory remark” that laziness was why people do not exercise as often as they should.
Tsai, who also skipped the ceremony and visited Nantou County, told reporters the economy is key for Taiwan and that people expect a competent and responsible government to help the country emerge from the economic slump.
Asked to comment on Ma’s speech, Tsai said his pledges were empty and sounded “more like a first-year president than a fifth-year president” because Ma “keeps telling people what he plans to do, rather than what he has achieved.”
The former DPP presidential candidate also offered advice to Ma on her Facebook page.
Quoting former US president Andrew Jackson, who said the greatness of an administration is built upon freedom, abundance and the fearlessness of its people, Tsai said a government which lacks the determination to safeguard freedoms and cannot take care of people’s everyday lives is not qualified to demand the loyalty of its people.
The worsening economic situation, including rising prices, an growing unemployment rate, furloughs and stagnant wages, has affected everyone — young and old — nationwide, Tsai said.
“The government appears to be the culprit of the people’s suffering,” she wrote.
The Ma administration has turned a deaf ear to warnings about the economy from the DPP and academics, Tsai said, adding that Taiwan’s overdependence on the Chinese market and the failure of industries to upgrade had hurt the nation’s global competitiveness.
Ma’s decision to raise electricity and fuel prices was like adding fuel to the fire, as the poor get poorer and the middle-class is struggling like never before, she said.
Tsai said she had expressed hope that Ma would “listen to the voice of the people, and take care of each and every Taiwanese” in her concession speech on the night of the presidential election on Jan. 14, but it is obvious that Ma had not been listening.
“I want to remind you [Ma] again, on National Day, that people are not required to lend unconditional support to the country unless their freedoms and well-being are amply protected,” Tsai said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary