This Gov’t Has Been Veering Too Far from Grassroots Hardships
2018/03/09
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This Gov’t Has Been Veering Too Far from Grassroots Hardships
China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)
March 7, 2018
Translation of an Excerpt
Following the Chinese New Year’s holidays, the green grocery auction market run by the Taipei Farm Produce Corporation closed down for long holidays more than once, producing a chaotic situation in which it was closed six out of 12 days. It has not been seen in decades, leaving farmers nowhere to sell their produce and leading to a collapse in the price of vegetables, and to cries over hardships by farmers.
The improved Suhua Highway was finally partially opened, but only for passenger cars while buses could only use the old, precarious Suhua Highway. Whether from the angle of safety, environmental protection, or encouraging public conveyance, it is difficult to understand.
The Financial Advisory Commission, on the grounds of preventing money laundering, has since March 1st been limiting daily deposits over NT$30,000 into a person’s account through ATM intra-bank transfers using debit cards. ATM deposit transactions are for one’s own account, so there is no issue of so-called proxy accounts; in other words, there are no misgivings of money laundering. The daily limit of NT$30,000 is not reasonable.
Such seemingly reasonable but in actuality absurd policies are quite a few. In the Legislative Yuan, the ruling party revised the Labor Standards Act in a high-handed manner, fully exhibiting the arrogance of the powers that be and the face of red tape and selfish departmentalism. Similarly, the run on toilet paper also reflected that government officials did not understand the grassroots hardships.
President Tsai has emphasized that politics is an enterprise of serving the people, and the people are the masters of government. In a democratic society, when officials are not willing to walk on the streets and into the alleys, not willing to be exposed to the Sun and the rains, or lower their heads to listen to the people's voices, then perhaps the day of their stepping down is not far away.
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