TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The incoming minister of the interior has blamed widening social inequality and a “sense of deprivation in society” for his party’s poor electoral results late last year.
Former Keelung mayor and NTU urban planning graduate Lin Yu-chang (林右昌), who will begin his role as minister of the interior today, made the comments on his Facebook page early this morning (Jan. 31). During his two terms as the mayor of Keelung, he maintained a high approval rating among constituents.
In the Facebook post, Lin outlined his vision for the role and acknowledged economic difficulties among the voting public during and post-pandemic. Lin said while media reports show strong economic growth in Taiwan over the past 50 months, this news was unlikely to resonate with small and medium business owners.
“Overall economic performance is good because import and export industries such as shipping and information technology have grown significantly,” Lin said. “But in reality, many small, medium and micro enterprises around us have suffered heavy losses, and many of them have taken a serious hit or closed down.”
Lin acknowledged that many of the business owners affected by the recent economic conditions are long-time DPP supporters. In an apparent appeal to this voting base, he said that it was this growing inequality and the resulting “sense of deprivation in society” that was the main reason for the DPP’s poor electoral result last year.
Lin said that now society is moving toward a full recovery from the pandemic, his party will concentrate resources and create conditions for affected small and medium business owners to “catch the economic recovery train” and recover from the past three years.
This juncture will be crucial to the DPP’s future success, according to Lin. “(The timing) is key for the DPP to rebuild the foundation of social support. Otherwise, no matter how beautiful the economic figures are, the people will still be indifferent.”
Hua Ching-chun (花敬群), formerly the acting minister of the interior, and Wu Jung-hui (吳容輝), formerly the chairman of the state-owned Taiyen Biotech, will serve as Lin’s deputies.
