Chen Shui-bian's trip overshadowed by home plight
( 2001-06-04 16:02 ) (9 )

Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's recent diplomatic advances have been overshadowed by persistent domestic woes --- especially on the economic front --- which have eroded people's faith in him, observers say.

Chen's Latin American trip and much-publicized transit stops in the United States seem unable to excite a public stricken by a rare recession which is worsened by political instabilities, they note. Chen is due to return home from the tour on Tuesday.

"Chen's overseas trip indeed will have a positive impact. But I feel sad, since the diplomatic glory cannot help ease any of our domestic plight," said legislator Lee Ching-an of the opposition People First Party.

The island, once envied for its "miracle" economic development, recorded its lowest quarterly growth in 26 years, 1.06 percent, during the January-March period.

Share prices have tumbled around 45 percent since Chen took office in May last year and unemployment rose to a 15-year high of 3.96 percent in April.

About 6,000 businesses were closed down last year and, ironically, many are taking their chances instead across the straits.

Some observers and politicians have condemned Chen as incompetent and

obsessed with pro-independence ideology, blaming this for the economic turmoil under his pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Chen is due to return home Tuesday via a stopover in Houston after visiting five allies in Latin American - El Salvador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Panama and Honduras.