President Ma Ying-jeou says that his eight years in office have seen Taiwan face down serious economic challenges but also achieve economic successes.
Ma delivered an address on his administration’s economic achievements at a forum Wednesday, two days before he steps down at the end of his second term. Ma said that Taiwan faced three economic recessions during his term in office. Taiwan’s economy struggled through the 2008 global financial crisis, the 2011 Eurozone debt crisis, and the global decline in exports last year.
His administration worked to overcome these challenges by encouraging a new model of economic development. This model included encouraging innovation and helping businesses make the move from competing based on price to competing based on quality.
Ma highlighted Taiwan’s steady movement up the ranks of global competitiveness indexes during his time in office. Taiwan ranked 11th in both the World Bank’s 2016 “Doing Business” report and in the IMD Business School’s 2015 report on global competitiveness. These rankings are the highest Taiwan has achieved in the past 20 years.
Ma also said that he is a strong proponent of economic liberalization. During his time in office, Taiwan signed the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement and free trade agreements with New Zealand and Singapore. Ma said that this openness has helped Taiwan’s economy remain stable and grow amid shrinking global demand.