Unemployment reaches six-year high in Taiwan
　

GRIM: The DGBAS director admitted that the figures did not include individuals who worked less than 16 hours a week, the so-called ‘unofficial’ unemployed
　

By Crystal Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Jan 23, 2009, Page 1

The nation’s unemployment rate climbed for the sixth straight month to a six-year high of 5.03 percent last month, with the number of unemployed people hitting a record 549,000 as more companies shut down or laid off workers to cope with a shrinking economy, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.

The statistics agency and economists warned of higher unemployment figures later this year, adding that stimulus measures could help mitigate the pain but would not remedy the situation.

“The unemployment rate rose 0.39 percentage points, or 42,000 people, to 5.03 percent last month, the highest since October 2002,” DGBAS Deputy Director Huang Jiann-jong (黃建中) told a press conference.

The seasonally adjusted figure also rose 0.39 percentage points to 5.01 percent — the highest since July 2002, he said.

FACTORS

Huang blamed the situation chiefly on sharp declines in exports that prompted many firms and factories to leave the market or lay off employees.

As many as a quarter of a million people lost jobs to business closures or downsizing last month, compared with 202,000 people in November, the DGBAS report showed.

Huang said the figures failed to fully reflect the overall picture, as an extra 1.2 million people worked less than 35 hours a week last month on falling demand for labor. Among them, 88,000 people worked less than 16 hours a week, which qualifies as “unofficial unemployment,” he said.

CONCERN

Huang voiced concern for the unemployment rate among people in the 45 to 64 age bracket, which rose 9.19 percent last month to 88,000, topping other age groups.

College graduates continued to top educational groups, with an unemployment rate of 4.78 percent last year, the report said.

Altogether, the unemployment rate stood at 4.14 percent last year, up 0.23 percentage points from 2007, the report said.

Cheng Cheng-mount (鄭貞茂), chief economist at Citigroup Inc Taiwan, said unemployment could reach 5.5 percent in the first half, adding that the government should ensure that the NT$500 billion (US$14.9 billion) stimulus package to spur economic growth is fully implemented.

INFRASTRUCTURE

“There is little the central bank can do to fight unemployment,” Cheng said by telephone. “Fiscal policy is likely a better tool. The government should spend more on infrastructure and consider distributing more consumer vouchers this year.”

Cheng said that while the unemployment rate was not unexpected, the decline in job growth was worrying.

The workforce contracted by 56,000 people last month, showing that market dynamism was flagging, the report said. Tony Phoo (符銘財), a Taipei-based economist at Standard Chartered Bank, echoed the concern, adding that the job contraction could reach levels seen in the recession of 2001.

NOT ENOUGH

Phoo said that while the voucher program and other stimulus measures provided some relief, they would not be sufficient to turn the economy around.

“The job market will probably remain drab the entire year as exports are expected to contract for the first three quarters,” Phoo said by telephone. “Companies will not hire new workers before a sustained recovery.”

China sentences two to death over milk scandal

AP, SHIJIAZHUANG, CHINA
Friday, Jan 23, 2009, Page 1

A Chinese court condemned two men to death and handed a life term to a former dairy boss yesterday for their roles in the country’s contaminated milk scandal, which ignited public anger and accusations of cover-ups.

The Intermediate People’s Court in Shijiazhuang gave the life sentence to Tian Wenhua (田文華), 66, the former general manager and chairwoman of Sanlu Group Co (三鹿), the dairy at the center of the crisis. She was the highest-ranking official charged in the food safety scandal.

At her trial last month, Tian pleaded guilty to charges of producing and selling fake or substandard products after infant formula tainted with the chemical melamine was blamed in the deaths of at least six babies and the illnesses of nearly 300,000 others.

The court sentenced Zhang Yujun (張玉軍), 40, to death for running a workshop that was allegedly China’s largest source of melamine, spokesman Wang Wei said. Geng Jinping was also given the death penalty for producing and selling toxic food. A third man, Gao Junjie, was given a suspended death sentence, which is usually commuted to a life sentence.

Some of the relatives of the victims, who gathered outside the court in cold weather in northern China, said Tian got off lightly.

“My granddaughter died. She [Tian] should die too, she should be shot. She has brought such harm to the public, to children,” said Zheng Shuzhen of Henan Province, who said her one-year-old granddaughter died in June after drinking Sanlu milk.

“We think Tian Wenhua’s sentence is just the beginning. As victims’ parents, we want justice for our children and we will call for it through reasonable and sensible means,” said Zhao Lianhai, who has set up a Web site to help organize parents whose children were sickened.

The sentences — the first handed down in the scandal — and a recent announcement of a compensation plan for the victims appear to be part of a government bid to put an end to the crisis.

During her Dec. 31 trial, Tian admitted she had known of problems with her company’s products for months before informing authorities.

The scandal was exposed in September.

Tian was also fined 20 million yuan (US$2.92 million) while Sanlu, which has been declared bankrupt, was fined 50 million yuan. Three other former Sanlu executives, including one now confined to a wheelchair after he tried to commit suicide last year, were given between five years and 15 years in prison.

Among the 12 sentences, two other life terms were handed down, while others were given jail terms of five to 15 years.A Chinese court condemned two men to death and handed a life term to a former dairy boss yesterday for their roles in the country’s contaminated milk scandal, which ignited public anger and accusations of cover-ups.

The Intermediate People’s Court in Shijiazhuang gave the life sentence to Tian Wenhua (田文華), 66, the former general manager and chairwoman of Sanlu Group Co (三鹿), the dairy at the center of the crisis. She was the highest-ranking official charged in the food safety scandal.

At her trial last month, Tian pleaded guilty to charges of producing and selling fake or substandard products after infant formula tainted with the chemical melamine was blamed in the deaths of at least six babies and the illnesses of nearly 300,000 others.

The court sentenced Zhang Yujun (張玉軍), 40, to death for running a workshop that was allegedly China’s largest source of melamine, spokesman Wang Wei said. Geng Jinping was also given the death penalty for producing and selling toxic food. A third man, Gao Junjie, was given a suspended death sentence, which is usually commuted to a life sentence.

Some of the relatives of the victims, who gathered outside the court in cold weather in northern China, said Tian got off lightly.

“My granddaughter died. She [Tian] should die too, she should be shot. She has brought such harm to the public, to children,” said Zheng Shuzhen of Henan Province, who said her one-year-old granddaughter died in June after drinking Sanlu milk.

“We think Tian Wenhua’s sentence is just the beginning. As victims’ parents, we want justice for our children and we will call for it through reasonable and sensible means,” said Zhao Lianhai, who has set up a Web site to help organize parents whose children were sickened.

The sentences — the first handed down in the scandal — and a recent announcement of a compensation plan for the victims appear to be part of a government bid to put an end to the crisis.

During her Dec. 31 trial, Tian admitted she had known of problems with her company’s products for months before informing authorities.

The scandal was exposed in September.

Tian was also fined 20 million yuan (US$2.92 million) while Sanlu, which has been declared bankrupt, was fined 50 million yuan. Three other former Sanlu executives, including one now confined to a wheelchair after he tried to commit suicide last year, were given between five years and 15 years in prison.

Among the 12 sentences, two other life terms were handed down, while others were given jail terms of five to 15 years.

Groups slam Penghu casino plans
　

UNBALANCED APPROACH: The groups said the Penghu County Government appeared to be biased toward promoting casinos as debate only included one view
　

By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Jan 23, 2009, Page 2
　

Anti-casino groups filed a petition with the Control Yuan yesterday, accusing the Penghu County Government of being biased and failing to deliver opinions from both sides on the construction of casinos before residents decide the issue in a referendum.

“The Penghu County Government plans to hold 30 information sessions on casino construction in the county before residents vote in a local referendum to decide whether they want casinos in the county,” Shih Chao-hui (釋昭慧), an anti-casino activist and a Buddhist nun, said in a press conference outside the Control Yuan before submitting the case. “So far, we’ve only seen academics who are pro-casino invited to speak at these information sessions — obviously the county government is one-sided and only wants to promote casinos.”

Amendments to the Offshore Island Development Act (離島建設條例) were adopted by the Legislative Yuan earlier this month to allow construction of casinos on offshore islands.

Penghu, a county that consists of hundreds of islands, has been the most active in pushing for casino construction.

The revised law states that residents may decide whether they want casinos on their islands by voting in a local referendum, and it would require an affirmative vote of more than half of the total valid ballots cast for the referendum to pass.

Although county commissioner Wang Chien-fa (王乾發) said he would like the referendum to take place as soon as possible, a precise date has not been set.

Shih yesterday also said that the government should allow all Taiwanese citizens to participate in the referendum, as it is a major issue that affects the entire population of the country and should not be determined only by Penghu residents.

All Taiwanese citizens should protect the welfare of future generations and have the responsibility to prevent the development of any kind of gambling mecca within the borders of the nation, she said.

The Society of Wilderness conservation director Tony Chou (周東漢) opposed the casino project because of concerns about damage the casino may cause to Penghu’s environment.

“Large-scale casino resorts are beyond Penghu’s ecological capacity,” Chou said. “Penghu may spend more on the pollution and ecological damage the casinos cause than it gains.”

The Control Yuan member on duty, Chen Yung-hsiang (陳永祥), took the petition from the activists.

The groups yesterday also announced that they would hold an anti-gambling parade on March 13 to protest the amended Offshore Island Development Act.

Back to ground zero once again

Friday, Jan 23, 2009, Page 8

The Ministry of Education surprised nobody with its announcement on Wednesday that it intended to change the name of National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall back to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂) by July.

The only surprise for most people was that it took so long.

With the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) so singularly unwilling to conduct even the slightest iota of reflection on its continued unwavering worship of dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) — a man considered by most of the rest of the world as a corrupt, megalomaniac butcher — it seems Taiwanese will never experience transitional justice of any form.

The biggest hurdle to this is that there are still far too many people in high office — including President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) — who owe everything to the cronyism and patronage networks that were constructed under the Chiang dynasty. Until such people fall from grace — something that does not look likely to happen anytime soon — Taiwan and those whose families suffered at the hands of the Chiangs during the 228 Incident and the ensuing White Terror will continue to be denied a chance for truth and reconciliation.

Instead, they will have to endure the prospect of daily encounters with the countless statues, memorials and places dedicated to the dead dictator that dot the nation.

While it is true that many Taiwanese hold Chiang’s son Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) in high esteem — despite his earlier stint as chief of the White Terror secret police — because he oversaw a period of rapid economic development and began efforts to localize the KMT, it is doubtful whether they hold Chiang the elder in equal regard.

This is probably why the ministry reneged on promises to wait until a public “consensus” had been reached before deciding how to resolve the name issue, as it knew it would be impossible to reach the consensus it required in a forum open to anyone.

The other reason for the decision to roll back the change is that Chiang is a vital part of the KMT narrative that Taiwan — or the Republic of China — was and still is part of China.

This view may not be shared by a majority of people, but it needs to be kept alive if the Ma administration is to continue its rapprochement with the Chinese Communist Party and smooth the way for eventual unification.

The KMT and Ma, for that matter, have been completely honest and open about their wish for such an outcome.

But for this to become a reality, it first has to reverse all the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) attempts at de-sinification, and then set about shaping public opinion in preparation for a future cross-strait deal of some kind.

Work to this end began when the KMT came back to power in May and the name change, along with a president who shows no compunction about paying homage at Chiang Kai-shek’s tomb each year on his birthday, are just two elements of this depressing, yet increasingly fast process.

Unmasking the ‘horse’

The confirmation that Diane Lee (李慶安) has US citizenship seemed to carry more implications than the exposure of a garden-variety hypocrisy from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-dominated legislature, given that deceit abounds in Taiwan today.

Pre-election promises notwithstanding, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), backed by the KMT, insists that cross-strait deals should take effect without either legislative vetting or public scrutiny.

Even without being privy to the premises behind those agreements, Taiwanese could still detect the ill effects unique to losing the nation’s sovereignty. There is then no doubt that we have been betrayed.

To many Taiwanese, Ma’s horror show is just getting started, given his propensity to steadily and quietly subjugate his government to Beijing.

At this rate, by the time the next presidential election rolls around, there won’t be any power left to transfer to his successor if Taiwanese decide to throw Ma out after one term. Ma is in essence pre-empting Taiwan’s democratic process.

It’s now a race between how fast Taiwanese can consolidate the opposition and Ma’s pace at undermining Taiwan. Even waiting until Ma’s one-year anniversary in office to constitutionally launch his recall might seem like an unaffordable luxury at this point.

Whistling in the dark, the KMT encourages the circulation among the Taiwanese public of the myth that the People’s Liberation Army would come to the KMT’s aid in case of a Taiwanese uprising.

What’s being ignored is the fact that Beijing’s launch of any invasion could only be with the intention of forcefully taking possession of Taiwan, not of helping out an — by then — irrelevant KMT. Ma and the KMT would be of value to Beijing only as long as these “Chinese compatriots” can hold down the lid on the pressure cooker Taiwan could one day become.

The KMT wouldn’t fare any better than the Taiwanese public if Beijing launches cross-strait military action.

Ma and many in the KMT leadership, such as Lee, appreciate this fine point and value the security of being a US national.

But they also don’t want to give up their power in Taiwan.

This desire to “have their cake and eat it too” gave birth to the Ma-patented fallacy of “automatic loss of validity” of US naturalization.

However, the reason US citizenship and immigrant status don’t automatically disappear is because they come with not only rights but duties too, not the least of which is filing an annual income tax return.

Lee’s case is noted for its being such a dead ringer for Ma’s, a fact that might also explain the timing of the exposure as it signifies the increasing wariness of Washington toward Ma.

It was once a common belief that as long as Ma was constrained by the US from instituting martial law to bury democracy, Taiwanese should have ample opportunity to fight for their own future.

That has proved to be a gross underestimation of Ma and the KMT’s treachery.

Ma’s pursuit of a stealthy dictatorship is taking Taiwan farther away from the West.

As a consequence, Washington could soon be forced to decide whether or not to give up on Taiwan’s democracy, and Taiwanese as free people, for the sake of an unjust peace.

Washington, by opting to expose Lee to minimize the cost of political capital while still hoping that the Taiwanese public can discern the inescapable conclusion, shouldn’t be surprised by the inability or unwillingness of many Taiwanese to connect the dots.

Ma’s popularity is stuck in the doldrums, however, thanks primarily to his mishandling of Taiwan’s economy, not to his dismantling of Taiwan’s sovereignty.

To restore some filament of its credibility in advocating democracy, Washington should stop beating around the bush and lay bare Ma’s real identity.

HUANG JEI-HSUAN
Los Angeles, California