Purchase of weapons worsens Taiwan finance

Taiwan authority has set a record in its total debt after Yu Shyi-kun, head of the "Executive Yuan" of Taiwan put forward special budget to finance "purchase of US weapons" and "10 new projects". The Kuomintang estimates that potential average debt per capita in Taiwan will reach 520, 000 new Taiwan dollars (one RMB yuan equals about four new Taiwan dollars).

According to a report of Hong Kong based Wen Wei Po, the think tank of the Kuomintang points that the total unpaid debt of Taiwan has reached 3, 400 bln new Taiwan dollars at present. Plus hidden debts and local debts, the total debt of Taiwan exceeds 11,000 bln new Taiwan dollars.

Despite the worsening finance of Taiwan, Yu Shyi-kun still proposed special budget to finance the "10 new projects" and "purchase of US weapons", which will borrow a total of 800 bln new Taiwan dollars. Plus the planned debt of 230 bln new Taiwan dollars for 2005 and the existing debt of 11, 000 bln, Taiwan's total debt will be 12, 000 bln. That is to say even a newborn in Taiwan is subject to a burden of 520,000 new Taiwan dollars.

IMF issued a warning to Taiwan not long ago, which indicates Taiwan's unpaid debt accounts 33 percent of its GDP, but the stable finance source only accounts for 13.5 percent of the GDP.

Source: People's Daily Online