President Tsai accuses Ma Ying-jeou of raising government debt by NT$1.7 trillion

President Tsai accuses Ma Ying-jeou of raising government debt by NT$1.7 trillion

2023-08-06

The government debt has been a hot topic in the run up to the January presidential election. Opposition parties have been accusing the Tsai administration of reckless spending in its Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program. Over the weekend, president Tsai fought back, emphasizing that she is not leaving debt behind for future generations, and that the real culprit is former president Ma Ying-jeou, who according to Tsai, raised the government debt by NT$1.7 trillion while he was in office. The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation wasted no time making a retort, saying the Tsai administration has been raising the government debt under the guise of its Special Budget.

Responding to the KMT and TPP’s accusations of allowing the special budget for the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program to balloon, President Tsai cited the actual figures in her retort.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
My predecessor, former President Ma, and his predecessor together increased our debt by somewhere between NT$1.4 trillion and NT$1.7 trillion in their eight years in office. I have only increased it by just over NT$400 billion since I’ve been president.

The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation wasted no time to fight back. Its director Hsiao Hsu-tsen issued a news release soon after Tsai’s remarks. It says that Tsai, having avoided appearing before the media for so long, has come out with nothing but lies. It highlights her special budget which reached NT$1.28 billion in six years’ time, surpassing the budget of NT$790.9 billion during the Ma administration. It says the Tsai administration has normalized the special budget, and has put the burden of debt on future generations, reaching the threshold of a fiscal red alert.

Lee De-wei
KMT lawmaker
Since she took office, President Tsai has compiled 13 items in the special budget totaling more than NT$2.49 trillion, so no matter who the next president is, she has already helped him plan and spend, so the next government will carry more than NT$400 billion of debt from the special budget.

Michelle Lin
DPP lawmaker
The debt from the special budget, like the debt from the general budget, is required to be included in the debt limit control, as the Public Debt Act stipulates. The accusation from Ma Ying-jeou’s office is totally illogical and lacks legal literacy. Ma Ying-jeou has come out to be validated, which is either ignorant or just bad on his part.

According to figures supplied by the Presidential Office, the government’s long-term debt had been raised by NT$1.49 trillion during the Chen Shui-bian administration, NT$1.7344 trillion during the Ma Ying-jeou administration, and just NT$435 billion during the Tsai Ing-wen administration so far.

Lee De-wei
KMT lawmaker
If you look at the information supplied by President Tsai Ing-wen’s office, you get the sense that it’s just technical verbiage that highlights certain facts, but obfuscate other parts.

Michelle Lin
DPP lawmaker
Since President Tsai Ing-wen came into office, not only has the government’s debt been reduced, but social-welfare programs have been added, including long-term care 2.0, childcare allowances, and housing subsidies. Income-tax deductions have also been increased to help lower people’s taxes. If the financial situation during the Ma administration was as good as the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation boasts, why didn’t the Ma government do anything to raise social welfare and cut taxes? No wonder The Economist called him a bumbler.

The DPP is clearly turning from defense to offense, endeavoring to clarify issues raised by the opposition parties and preventing its opponents from citing inaccurate information to spread rumors and smear it.

蔡反擊馬執政留債增1.7兆林楚茵:馬辦不是無知就是壞

2023-08-06

在野黨近來頻繁攻擊前瞻計畫亂花錢，總統蔡英文昨天(5日)主動反擊，強調絕對沒有債留子孫，反控馬英九執政，留債1.7兆。讓馬辦不開心，痛批蔡政府把特別預算常態化，民進黨立委林楚茵反嗆，馬英九是經濟學人認證的笨拙，反觀蔡總統任內債務只有4350億，是歷任總統最低的，雙方隔空交火。

藍白緊咬前瞻預算，總統蔡英文，拿數字重砲反擊。

[[總統蔡英文(8.5)]]
“我的前任的馬總統，還有前前任，他們8年執政留下的債務，大概是增加1兆4千到1兆7千多，我做總統做到現在，才增加4千多億而已。”

馬英九基金會執行長蕭旭岑發新聞稿反擊，直言蔡英文躲了這麼久沒出現在公眾前，一開口都是謊言。尤其是在特別預算編列部分，蔡政府6年已透過特別預算舉債1兆2787億元，遠超過馬政府時期的7909億元。痛批蔡政府把特別預算常態化，是真正的"債留子孫"，早已到達財政危險警戒線。

[[立委(國) 李德維]]
“蔡總統執政到現在，已經編列13項特別預算，數字高達2兆4千9百多億，所以下一任總統不管是誰，她現在已經幫他規畫要花掉了，所以接下來政府都還要揹負4千多億的特別預算的債務舉債數字。”

[[立委(民) 林楚茵]]
“特別預算的舉債，跟總預算的舉債都一樣，要列入債限管控，這是公共債務法規定的，馬辦指控根本邏輯不通，也缺乏法律素養。馬英九現在跳出來刷存在感，不是無知就是壞。”

根據總統府提供的數字，從前幾任總統執政時期所增加的長期債務來看，前總統陳水扁執政時期是1兆4923億元、馬英九執政時期是1兆7344億元，截至今年7月底，蔡英文執政則為4350億元，是歷任最低。

[[立委(國) 李德維]]
“蔡英文總統的辦公室，某種程度我們感覺是用一些話術，把某一些事實呈現，但另外部分卻沒有講清楚。”

[[立委(民) 林楚茵]]
“蔡英文總統執政以來，不只是政府的債務降低，還增加許多社會福利，包括長照2.0、育兒津貼跟租屋補貼提高，也同時提高所得稅扣除額，幫民眾減稅，如果馬英九執政時期，政府的財政跟馬辦吹噓的一樣，這麼好，那這些社會福利跟降稅，馬政府為什麼不做？難怪被經濟學人封為笨拙的人。”

民進黨反守為攻，主動澄清，不讓在野陣營，頻拿錯誤資訊造謠抹黑。

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Mingde Reservoir in Miaoli County reached 99% capacity, after Typhoon Khanun brought heavy rainfall throughout Taiwan. It got so full that authorities opened its gates and discharged water over the weekend. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s largest reservoir, Zengwen Reservoir in Tainan, reached nearly half capacity, after being dangerously low only a week ago. With the high likelihood of more storms in the current typhoon season, authorities say the outlook is good for the country’s water supply.

Water rushes through the dam at Mingde Reservoir, after two spillway gates were opened to discharge water.

Typhoon Khanun brought heavy rainfall which filled Miaoli’s Mingde Reservoir to 99% capacity. Concerned that another sudden rain storm would flood the reservoir, authorities discharged water from it on Saturday afternoon. The water was released at a rate of five cubic meters per second, or 18,000 tons of water per hour.

Weng Chih-cheng
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We will still prioritize the irrigation needs of farmers, and will keep an eye on the water-resources situation. If it looks like it’s going to rain, then we will lower the water level to 95% capacity.

By 10 p.m. on Sunday, the reservoir is expected to be at 97.82%. The Irrigation Agency is also urging residents living downstream from the reservoir to remain alert, to prevent accidents caused by the water discharge.

Meanwhile, a catchment area upstream from Tainan’s Zengwen Reservoir has also risen due to continuous rainfall over the mountains of Chiayi, bringing plenty of water into the reservoir in the brevity of just two days.

Voice of Ho Ta-fu
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As of 9:00 this morning, Zengwen Reservoir was at 46.7% capacity; that’s about 236 million tons of water. These past few days of continuous rainfall has brought around 330 millimeters of rain.

Wu Ming-hsun
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The water that was added to the reservoir raised the level from just over 10% capacity to nearly 50% at present.

Voice of Ho Ta-fu
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It’s been raining continuously around the catchment area. This amount of rainfall is very good for the situation at the reservoir.

While Zengwen Reservoir is now near half-capacity, nearby Nanhua Reservoir is already full following heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Doksuri last week. With typhoon season still in full swing, authorities say the outlook for water resources is good.

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Activists push people-oriented changes for Taiwan’

Taiwan is famous for its food, scenery and hospitality, but it’s also a "living hell for pedestrians." That’s according to a CNN report last year. Experts say that most of Taiwan’s road designs and policies are meant to get traffic moving as fast as possible, often at the cost of safety. But in recent years, the concept of "people-oriented transport" has gotten traction, and activists are pushing for the rights of pedestrians. What are the changes they say will improve road safety? We find out in our Sunday special report.

Cars not yielding to pedestrians is a daily sight in Taiwan. Some accidents cause only minor scrapes, while others sadly cost lives. Transport ministry statistics show more than 400 deaths annually from traffic accidents.

Liu Li-liang
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Everyone must adopt the concept of yielding to pedestrians, because pedestrians are the more vulnerable group of people using the road. If everyone yields, we may see a reduction in deaths at intersections.

Taiwanese drivers tend to be in a hurry, and this makes intersections a deathtrap. Pedestrians are urged to look both ways before crossing the road, but some argue the onus should be put on drivers.

Chao Chia-lin
Chung Yuan Christian University
It is the result of how we teach people that intersections have become deathtraps. We teach them to yield, fear and cower from cars. Drivers don’t need to cower away from pedestrians.

People are told to wear bright or reflective clothing outdoors at night. However, some say this suggestion also makes pedestrians responsible for safety, rather than drivers.

Lin Chih-hsueh
Taiwan Traffic Safety Association
You have to understand that telling people to wear reflective things is a driver-oriented mindset. People aren’t going to do that, so they must rely on public lighting fixtures to illuminate them.

Stepping out from Taimall Park in Taoyuan, traffic-safety advocate Lin Chih-hsueh spots a car parked illegally on the sidewalk. The lack of pedestrian-focused traffic design in Taiwan is frustrating, he says. Despite the introduction of pedestrian lanes painted in green on roads, the lanes are often missing or abruptly end.

Lin Chih-hsueh
Taiwan Traffic Safety Association
Turns at our intersections are designed based on the boundary between public and private land. They don’t take into account the path traversed by vehicles. So naturally it is difficult to account for the path of pedestrians.

Looking at the traffic design for Taiwan’s cities makes it clear there is no space allotted for pedestrians at corners. If a driver parks illegally at a corner, pedestrians are forced out into the street, putting them at risk of getting hit.

Lin Chih-hsueh
Taiwan Traffic Safety Association
If we designed the corners properly, it wouldn’t be possible for drivers to park illegally, and traversing corners would be made easier. The biggest impact would be felt by drivers of large commercial trucks. When those trucks make turns, if someone is parked illegally on the corner, it puts the truck driver in a real bind.

Designing sidewalks to follow the proper turning radius around corners would force drivers to make proper turns. It would also help prevent illegal parking at corners, and would make intersections safer for pedestrians.

Sidewalks in Taiwan are also often obstructed by power transformers, trees and illegally parked scooters. The issue is caused by poor lateral communication, with contractors simply following plans, and not communicating problems to designers. The issue results in unusable sidewalks.

Chang Sheng-hsiung
Tamkang University
In 10 meters there’s a power transformer. How will you get around it?

Chung Yuan Christian University School of Design Dean Chao Chia-lin draws a diagram of a typical intersection in Taiwan. He explains that when lights turn green, both vehicles and pedestrians proceed through the intersection. In many cases, pedestrians are in the driver’s blind spot behind their A pillar.

By moving sidewalks further outward, cars will be straightened out before they reach the intersection, and they will be able to see pedestrians clearly.

Taiwan’s driver-oriented traffic model is undoubtedly the reason Taiwan is called a hell for pedestrians.

Lin Chao-hsien
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In fact, the design concept early on, including for intersections, was to prevent traffic jams. We aimed to get traffic moving along as fast as possible. The idea was to improve efficiency.

Chang Sheng-hsiung
Tamkang University
What I worry about in regard to society is the way we chase efficiency. Likely there are a lot of places now where we pursue efficiency at the expense of safety.

Taiwan’s driver-oriented traffic design can be traced back to 1978, and was based on the design in the U.S. However, differences in population and geographical factors between the countries mean the U.S. model is not fully suitable for Taiwan.

Chao Chia-lin
Chung Yuan Christian University
The U.S. is a driver-oriented society. Cars are cheap in the U.S., and there is plenty of land there. In many parts of the U.S. if you don’t have a vehicle, you can’t get around.

European countries adopt people-oriented transportation models. In some European countries, pedestrians have exclusive use of an area covering roughly 45% of the road. Although this reduces road width and causes traffic jams, it also changes the way locals think about transportation.

Chao Chia-lin
Chung Yuan Christian University
It’s common for people in Europe to ride a bicycle 10 to 15 kilometers one way for their daily commute. Therefore, they have comprehensive networks of bike lanes there. Their cities are already developed in that respect. If people there choose to drive, they choose to be stuck in traffic.

Here at the intersection of Xianmin Blvd. and Xinzhan 新站Rd. in New Taipei’s Banqiao District, the MRT and Taiwan Railways Administration rail networks converge. The intersection is often crowded, and the traffic is heavy and fast-moving. For the safety of pedestrians, the intersection uses a diagonal crossing and pedestrian signal lights.

Lin Chao-hsien
New Taipei Transportation Department
At certain times, only pedestrians can traverse the intersection. This can reduce the number of scenarios where cars are weaving through pedestrians, which significantly improves safety for people crossing the road.

The intersection’s crosswalks were also widened from 4 to 6 meters, and directional areas were added to both ends of the crosswalks. Additionally, pedestrian signals were enlarged to make them more visible to older adults.

This is Dexiang Rd. in Kaohsiung’s Nanzih District. Pedestrian lanes were painted along the roadside, and scooters now park outside the lanes. In the past, scooters would park illegally along both sides of the road, reducing the four-lane road to two lanes. Pedestrians were also forced out into the street, putting them at risk.

Now pedestrians walk close to the storefronts on a roughly 2-meter-wide lane, with scooters off to the side.

Mr. Wu
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Actually, it hasn’t made a big impact on business. However, when I’m walking along the road I personally feel a bit safer.

Liu Kuan-chieh
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Traffic jams are a problem that cities face worldwide. However, people typically won’t use this as a reason to widen roads. Instead, people will simply avoid driving in the city.

Liu Kuan-chieh previously studied in Europe as an exchange student. When he returned home, he realized that Taiwan’s roads are not pedestrian friendly. He set out to improve the situation through new road-design plans.

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I just hope that the area around my home can be safe. I drew some rough drafts, which I may give to a city councilor, or to a transportation official. After they adopt the ideas, maybe they can slowly be implemented on the roads.

City traffic engineer Chuang Che-wei also has some new ideas about road design. He and road-safety advocate Liu Kuan-chieh often meet to discuss road design together. They collect road-design templates, which they pass on to officials to consider.

Liu Chien-pang
Kaohsiung Transportation Bureau
To make these changes we can use a PPP, or public-private partnership, model. Public and private parties can cooperate, to take our ideas for road markings and road design, and continuously make improvements.

With much of the world adopting a people-oriented traffic model, Taiwan must implement changes to keep pace. Safe roads and intersections are in everyone’s interest. If Taiwan resolves to improve traffic safety, it will shed its image as a “pedestrian hell,” and the country will be a better place for generations to come.

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A dance teacher moves to the beat. Students are watching the live class remotely. If they’re struggling to hear her instructions, they simply turn on the automatic subtitles. The speech-to-text tool is the invention of this team.

It turns audio to text instantly – no matter if you talk Mandarin, Taiwanese, English, Japanese or Cantonese. There’s virtually no lag. It can even handle a sentence that slips between Chinese and English. Taiwan AI Labs have launched Taiwan’s first AI speech recognition app specially designed for Taiwanese accents. It can be used to instantly transcribe classes and meetings.

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We named it Yating because there is an amazing professional shorthand typist called Yating. She is Audrey Tang’s shorthand typist. We wanted our Yating speech-to-text tool to be as awesome as her. You just have to open it, in a meeting or any other setting, and it will sit there and record everything said. There’s been a huge technical breakthrough recently. We collected many combinations of all kinds of different voices from all over the world. That allowed us to make our AI model listen to what all these voices from around the world sound like, and then to teach it to recognize them.

The program is continuously improving to upgrade precision. Many people attended classes remotely or worked online during the pandemic, and demand for automatic transcription and subtitles of meetings and lectures has exploded.

Ethan Tu
Taiwan AI Labs founder
In today’s speech recognition and comprehension tools, as well as textual comprehension tools, we can manage natural language. During a conversation, we can actually use relevant data in the moment to supplement our meetings.

The developers of Yating saw a niche and filled it. Now they’re working to add more functions and improve the app’s efficiency for work, saving users time and effort.

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