The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday blasted President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) over his comment that Taiwan’s national debt was a “nonissue” and said the party opposed Ma’s intention to raise the debt ceiling.
“Ma’s comment reflects his ignorance and incompetence as government finances have deteriorated under his leadership. Taiwan will not have the EU to bail it out before it goes over the financial cliff,” DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) told a press conference.
Ma said in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Central Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday that the nation should raise its debt ceiling and government debt “is not something to be afraid of as we can afford to borrow more.”
“[Those debt-ridden countries] are alive and kicking with debt ceilings of 70 percent [of their GDP] and even 200 percent,” Ma said.
Government debt has risen sharply since Ma took office in 2008, Lin said, adding that the accumulated debts during Ma’s five years in office reached NT$1.72 trillion (US$58.4 billion), while the DPP administration’s accumulated government debt from 2000 until 2008 was NT$1.3 trillion.
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
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