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What infuriates me is this: Taiwanese businesses are unwilling to digitalize, so let's subsidize, Taiwanese businesses are unwilling to innovate, so let's subsidize. Students are feeling stressed, so let's counsel. But these is symptomatic of the patchwork policymaking ... https://twitter.com/royngerng/status/1328858049486876672
... Taiwan uses. It feels like Taiwan is sleepwalking in its policymaking. It refuses or cannot understand the underlying issues, because it has been stuck in its patchwork policymaking for decades. Thing is, #COVID19 has shown the government can deal with issues if it puts ...
... its mind to it. But Taiwan refuses to address the very fundamental issue - how low costs and low wages have resulted in a lack of impetus among businesses to innovate, demoralization among youths, fear, rigidity. So Taiwan starts believing it's too small to be competitive ...
... and therefore relies on what it's been doing for 30, 40 years, semiconductor, ICT. Nothing wrong with these but the ideals guiding Taiwan's policymaking is fear & a lack of imagination - which has in part developed as a result of not doing, and therefore thinking differently.
... But this is somewhat like a very, very long drawn out death, let's just work on the semiconductor industry until another country catches up, and then? It's not going to happen soon, but there's very little impetus for change at the current moment ...
... It's not popular to say all these, especially as a foreigner, because Taiwan is "not my home". But I'm here, I want to make it my home. And what I'm saying is what many Taiwanese youths are saying, but I shouldn't say it because of an anti-foreigner sentiment which can ...
... go out of control, but this anti-foreigner sentiment understandable as well because insecurity and fear of one's economic situation creates that - let's blame it on the other. I'm proud of Taiwan's #COVID19 response, but it doesn't mean we cannot criticize Taiwan's...
... lack of transformation. Taiwan wants to guard itself against China but isn't building up your people the best way to do it? Taiwan wants to be more competitive after being blocked by international trade agreements, but isn't building up your people the best way to do it? ...
... We cannot keep paying low wages, work or study long hours, and drive all that innovativeness out of youths and workers. Many people talk about transformation but many of these are also older people who do not actually want to transform because it takes away the prestige ...
... and benefits they acquire from being at the top of the food chain. Then Taiwan won't be able to transform. Yet, Taiwan's leaders aren't that different, so there is very little political will to disrupt the system, and allow it to breath again. And it is immensely frustrating.
