The landslide victory of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in the legislative elections reflects the electorate's yearning for a better economy, but the key to the direction of Taiwan's economic policies lies with the presidential election in March and the subsequent Cabinet reshuffle, economists said yesterday.
Polaris Research Institute president Liang Kuo-yuan (梁國源) said the election reflected a message that voters wanted to send to politicians -- "It's the economy, stupid."
"Taiwan's survival hinges on the economy, and time is running out," Liang said.
PHOTO: WANG PEI-HUA, TAIPEI TIMES
"I would interpret the KMT's win with such an overwhelming margin as an `F' from voters disappointed with the performance of the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] over the past eight years, especially over the economy," said Chou Tein-chen (
Though there was no consensus on whether the legislative poll would bring a pendulum effect to the presidential election, analysts agreed that the outcome of the election in March is still the key to future economic policies.
Taiwan's economic growth of 4.4 percent last year was the lowest among 20 Asian countries, according to a report issued last week by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Experts such as Standard & Poor's credit analyst Tan Kim-eng (
"Lawmaking remains difficult in the absence of bipartisan cooperation. And if the legislative and presidential elections this year yield another `split government,' it could result in continued political paralysis at a time when the government will be facing important policy decisions," Singapore-based Tan wrote in a report released last week.
Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), vice president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院), said people are tired of the stalemate caused by bipartisan politics over the past eight years.
"The worst is over, because the impasse in the last parliament was the result of a reluctant opposition unable to accept its failure in the 2004 election," Kung said.
"If the KMT is to win the presidential race too, that means the voters are now giving the KMT very high expectations to improve the economy. But if the DPP won the presidential election, that would mean voters are keen to maintain Taiwan's integrity as a country," Kung said.
Besides Taiwan's policies toward China, what economic issues played a role in the legislative elections?
Most economists interviewed by the Taipei Times said they didn't find much difference between the KMT and the DPP with regard to other economic polices, and they called on the two parties to give clearer pictures of their policies for the coming election.
National Chengchi University professor Steve Lin (林祖嘉) agreed.
He said the KMT's policy of opening the market to more mainland Chinese tourists would boost the service sector and help improve the serious unemployment problem among low-skilled workers in southern Taiwan.
TIER's Kung said both the DPP's Frank Hsieh and KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) were moving towards a more "open" economic policy.
"Hsieh plans to improve the investment environment by giving more tax initiatives here to lure funds that have flown to China back to Taiwan, while Ma opts to open markets and push for direct flights ? Both are goals to boost economic growth," Kung said.
Chou said that the DPP lacked economic talent in its Cabinet.
"Even though DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) also champions an open policy towards Taiwan-China relations ... The voters vying for a better economy will definitely take [the lack of economic talent] into consideration when they vote in March," Chou said.
Liang stressed that the future government's ability to implement a policy framework is still the most important factor in improving the economy.
"That would depend on the success in negotiations on direct links and tourism with mainland authorities, the ability of the Cabinet members and the conciliation of internal resistance for such market openings," Liang said. "I would not say that Ma and Hsieh are the same on the liberalization path."
"At least Ma doesn't have the internal resistance issues on mainland policies that Hsieh has to deal with if he wants to deliver his campaign promises," Liang said.
"Although we are concerned about the possibility that an overwhelming win in both the legislative and the presidential race might tilt the balance of power too far, this is a good sign that the democracy in Taiwan is teaching politicians a lesson -- if they do a lousy job without caring for the people's needs, they will be out of their job sooner or later," Chou said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by