The Trap of the Plagiarized, Jerry-Rigged, Pared-Back Forward-Looking Plan

 The Trap of the Plagiarized, Jerry-Rigged, Pared-Back Forward-Looking Plan

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

July 6, 2017

 Translation of an Except

The DPP is attempting to reach a beachhead with full force for its "forward-looking infrastructure plan." A New Power Party legislator exposed that the economic benefits assessment for the plan was "plagiarized" from the Ma government's “plan for revitalizing the economy” and that even “the wording and punctuation marks are exactly the same.” At the same time, the DPP caucus proposed conditions for compromise, saying it was willing to cut the scale of the 8-year, NT$880 billion plan to a 4-year and NT$420 billion in exchange for the passage in the third reading of the forward-looking special budget, which finally secured the consent of the opposition parties. As the drama was played out to this point, the forward-looking construction plan plagued by plagiarism, jerry-rigging, massive pork-barrel padding, followed by paring-down, all upset the people’s stomachs.

To be fair, if the Tsai government indeed intended to push for economic development through public construction, as long as it was meticulously planned, with Tsai Ying-wen’s high popularity when first taking office, it would not have been difficult to secure support for the construction budget, and the opposition parties would not have had any reason to block it. Who knew the Lin Chuan Cabinet was so eager to take credit that it would act hastily and cavalierly. In the short period of the Lunar New Year holidays, it produced an extravagant smorgasbord of cold cuts with a grandiose name of the "forward-looking infrastructure construction plan." In reality, the people not only failed to see any forward-looking spirit, they didn’t even see any real intention in building up Taiwan. Moreover, some obviously sundry construction aimed to underscore “blessings” from the central government to the point of helping Green-ruled counties and cities to embellish their performance. Also because of this, budget allocations favor "the Green over the Blue," so it was difficult to avoid criticism. Under scrutiny, dissenting voices from all circles mounted, resulting in a situation today that the DPP had to shrink the budget in embarrassment.

For this reason, when the DPP proposed concessions, it was willing to pare down the 8-year, NT$800 billion budget to 4-year, NT$420 billion. Whether the motive was it sensed the backlash of public opinion, or “making progress by retreating,” or it was just a delaying tactic of “making progress by retreating,” it admitted it was unreasonable that the Tsai government would in one stroke squander over NT$800 billion for a project. A forward-looking plan with plagiarism, jerry-rigging, and pork barrel padding, in the end could surprisingly have been cut into half in the bidding process. The whole thing was indeed unimaginable. Shouldn’t the people congratulate themselves for cutting into half the money the government plans to squander?

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