President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) vision to create a “golden decade” has come under sharp criticism from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers after it was revealed that the government had outsourced Taiwan’s development plans to an economic research institute.
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday that the Council of Economic Planning and Development, which is responsible for planning the economic policies behind Ma’s “golden decade” pledge, launched a public tender for a research proposal on a “2020 National Development Vision plan.”
The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research reportedly won the NT$8 million (US$247,000) contract, which council officials said involved working with the council to hold public meetings nationwide promoting the “golden decade” policy.
DPP caucus whip Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) blasted the plan yesterday, saying it was “ridiculous” for the government to outsource an important article of national policy.
“It seems like Ma’s plan is to first have a slogan and then find the content,” DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said. “It damages the credibility of both the president and the government.”
Meanwhile, DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said that if the government was already outsourcing plans for Taiwan’s future, “President Ma might as well step down and ask the head of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research to become president.”
According to the Liberty Times article, council officials have downplayed the affair, saying the council retained overall control over the “golden decade” plan.
The “golden decade” was first raised during April’s debate on an economic cooperation framework agreement with DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
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