New Taiwan Gov’t to Emulate Pres. Lee’s Policies

Taiwan’s next government suggests it will emulate the policies of Korean President Lee Myung-bak in putting priority on controlling inflation over boosting economic growth, the Taiwanese daily United Daily News said yesterday.

In a meeting with Wu Poh-hsiung, chairman of Taiwan’s Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, Vice President-elect Vincent Siew hailed President Lee’s focus on easing inflation by adjusting priorities.

“Since the global economic environment changes frequently, a nation’s economic policies should keep pace with such changes,” Siew said. “Lee’s priority adjustment is right in that curbing monetary expansion is the most urgent challenge to handle over the short term.”

When asked if he would adjust the priority of economic policies after reviewing Lee’s measures, Siew said, “After considering all policies and experiences at home and abroad, the next government will suggest effective measures to stabilize rising consumer prices.”

The new governments of Korea and Taiwan have both harshly criticized their predecessors for ineffective economic policies and promised to boost economic growth.

Taiwan’s President-elect Ma Ying-jeou has taken a page from Lee’s election pledges. During his campaign, Ma announced his “633 plan” for achieving economic growth of six percent, raising per capita income to 30,000 dollars by 2011, and lowering unemployment to less than three percent.

The plan resembles Lee’s “747 project,” which pledged annual growth of seven percent for Korea, per capita income of 40,000 dollars, and a place among the world’s top seven economies in ten years.

Siew said he will emulate Korea’s economic policies, saying, “Korean President Lee is trying to improve his nation’s economic structure via tax cuts, deregulation and privatization. Also, he is giving higher priority to curbing monetary expansion in response to surging oil prices and financial market uncertainty.”

redfoot@donga.com