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EDITORIAL: An
about-face, but no apology
At 10pm on Tuesday, the government announced a major about-face in its policy on
electricity rates. Rather than the initial plan that would have seen household
electricity rates increase by an average of 16.9 percent, commercial rates by 39
percent and industrial rates by 35 percent from May 15, President Ma Ying-jeou
(°¨^¤E) unveiled a scheme to implement the increase in phases.
There will be three stages, Ma said ¡X 40 percent of the original increase on
June 10 and 40 percent on Dec. 10, while the date when the remaining 20 percent
increase is implemented depends on whether state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower)
has presented an acceptable reform program to the government.
At first glance, it appears the Ma administration has heeded the public outcry
over the rate increase and reacted responsibly by revising its policy.
However, a closer look suggests Ma remains as arrogant and callous toward the
plight of the public as ever.
First, no single word of apology was offered throughout Ma¡¦s statement over the
government¡¦s flip-flop.
As recently as two weeks ago, when defending what Ma then called the absolute
necessity of sticking to the scheduled May 15 price increase, the president, in
response to public criticism, said it was a result of people not understanding
economics. Now that the government has made a major about-face, doesn¡¦t the
president at least owe the public an apology for having chided them for not
understanding his so-called economics?
Second, the fact that not a single Cabinet official has shouldered responsibly
for the government¡¦s ill-conceived electricity policy highlights the arrogance
of Ma and his administration.
Then there is the odd approach the Ma administration adopts in its dealings with
the public. In an obvious attempt to assuage public anger, it has resorted to
the tactic of giving the public ¡§a discount.¡¨
Ma outlined the policy change as if the government were doing the public a favor
by opting not to make a one-time increase in the price of electricity.
The truth is that whether there is a one-time increase or a phased increase, the
planned increase has already led to higher retail prices. In other words, the
so-called revised policy does nothing to reduce the daily financial burden on
the public.
Most significantly, Ma and the Cabinet have failed to provide the public with a
convincing explanation as to why electricity prices must be increased. Saying
that Taipower has accumulated losses of NT$132.2 billion (US$4.5 billion) as of
the end of February is not a good enough reason to justify the increases.
If Ma is sincere about wanting to reduce people¡¦s economic burden and conduct
reform, he would have demanded that Taipower present a satisfactory reform plan
by June 10, before deciding whether there should be an increase in electricity
prices.
Many political observers have suggested that the Chinese Nationalist Party¡¦s (KMT)
embarrassing loss in the Lugang Township (³À´ä) mayoral by-election in Changhua
County on Saturday put pressure on the Ma administration, prompting it to revise
its planned policy.
In light of Ma¡¦s lack of sincerity when conducting reforms ¡X evidenced by the
fact that he failed to consider overhauling Taipower¡¦s management structure
before reaching into the public¡¦s pockets to pay for the company¡¦s losses ¡X it
looks like the pressure on the government is not enough.
The public must continue to push the government to formulate policies that are
truly beneficial to the people.
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