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Lee urges Ma to open
his ears on economy
COTERIE: Lee Teng-hui said Ma Ying-jeou¡¦s
governing style was akin to that of an emperor who arrived at policy decisions
with just a few advisers behind closed doors
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Former president Lee Teng-hui
delivers the closing remarks at a forum on national economic development in
Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Taking good care of Taiwan¡¦s economy is
the only way for President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) to restore public faith in him and
that would require a collective effort rather than an oligarchy, former
president Lee Teng-hui (§õµn½÷) said yesterday.
¡§Instead of feeling good about yourself, you should ask the people whether you
are a good president. Social stability would be in place and people would be
happy and have confidence in you if you were able to take care of Taiwan¡¦s
economy,¡¨ Lee said in his closing remarks for a forum on national economic
development.
The comments followed a string of similar advice and criticisms of Ma by Lee in
recent months, during which the 89-year-old described the president as ruling
the country with the mentality of an ¡§emperor¡¨ and being ¡§out of touch with
Taiwanese.¡¨
Citing recent controversial policies of price increases on fuel and electricity
and a capital gains tax on securities transactions, Lee said Taiwan is facing
economic difficulties that would not be solved without visionary and effective
leadership.
A good leader has to listen to not only the opinions of various agencies, but
also academics, industry leaders and ordinary people before making a final
decision, he said.
¡§You don¡¦t make decisions with only a handful of people inside a conference
room,¡¨ Lee said, referring to Ma¡¦s decisionmaking process.
While Lee has always declined to directly criticize Ma, he said the current
administration appeared to be ¡§cluelessly courageous¡¨ in formulating its
policies.
Lee said he had been particularly concerned with the nation¡¦s status in a
turbulent global economic climate even before the Jan. 14 presidential election,
which was why he asked Taiwan Advocates, a think tank he established, to
organize the forum.
The three-part forum discussed the issues of the change in global economic
trends, the development of emerging economies and the government¡¦s role in the
market economy system.
Lee summed up his analysis of Taiwan¡¦s economy and its challenges with nine
observations.
Externally, Lee said Taiwan should speed up regional economic integration by
signing free-trade agreements with major trade partners to avoid overdependence
on the Chinese economy and to proceed with the Economic Cooperation Framework
Agreement (ECFA) under the WTO framework.
Taiwan may have to reconsider the pros and cons of banking and trade
liberalization due to the high risk to which an economy the size of Taiwan would
be exposed.
It is also essential to assist Taiwanese businesspeople in China, either by
helping them return to Taiwan or transfer their investments to other emerging
markets, as the Chinese economy slows down, he said.
However, it would be even more important to strengthen the domestic economy by
controlling rising government debt, upgrading industrial infrastructure,
promoting innovation and re-establishing the agricultural sector as the
foundation of Taiwan¡¦s economy, Lee said.
Lee reiterated his proposal to stimulate domestic economic activity and create
free competition that he had been calling for in recent months, including the
privatization of state-owned or state-run companies, such as Taiwan Sugar Corp;
CPC Corp, Taiwan; Taiwan Power Co; Taiyen Co and Chunghwa Telecom.
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