Four Hundred Billion Evaporates, but Nobody is Responsible

Four Hundred Billion Evaporates, but Nobody is Responsible
China Times editorial
translated by Bevin Chu
August 4, 2007

A recent news report escaped the notice of most people. We however, were quite taken aback. According to this report, Taipower's Fourth Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 was scheduled to begin operations in July two years from now. But because contractors have declared bankruptcy, construction will have to be delayed at least eight months. In other words, the ruling DPP's halt on construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant will set the project back four years. According to estimates by Academia Sinica economic experts, delays caused by the suspension of work on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant will increase the cost of construction alone by 160 billion NT. According to Legislative Yuan research figures, changes in contractual terms, price increases in the reserve fund, additional annual fuel costs due to the substitution of fossil fuel fired electrical generation plants following the Executive Yuan's announced halts on construction, have already cost an additional 234.5 billion NT. Using the simplest arithmetic, the ruling DPP's stopping and restarting of construction on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant has already cost Republic of China taxpayers over 400 billion NT (approximately 12 billion US).

How much is 400 billion, really? For the ordinary citizen, it is an inconceivable, astronomical sum. Why not take the most common central government budget figures for comparison? Consider the 2006 central government budget, approved by the Legislative Yuan, amounting to over 1.37 trillion NT (approximately 42 billion US). Four hundred billion is nearly 1/3 of the Republic of China's annual budget. By contrast, corruption and fraud are a drop in the bucket. Policy decisions made for the sake of ideological conformity, allowed 400 billion to simply evaporate.

Try thinking about it. How much good could have been done with this 400 billion, had it not been wasted? Taipei County has been elevated to the status of a Directly Administered Municipality. Recently, it has been fighting with Taipei City and Kaohsiung City over central government funding. Arguing over 10 or 20 billion in budget allocations, officials have gotten flushed in the face with anger, and almost become sworn enemies! The Executive Yuan only has so much money. If Taipei County wants a little more, then Taipei City and Kaohsiung City must receive that much less. The central government is not about to give the three one dollar more. This shows that Taipei County's elevation to the status of Directly Administered Municipality was purely an election ploy by which Su Tseng-chang hoped to drum up party support during the presidential primary race. Not even the most rudimentary financial preparations were made. In other words, even if Taichung is eventually elevated to the status of Directly Administered Municipality, it will probably have to share from the same pie. The Executive Yuan may be able to elevate the status of counties and municipalities with the wave of a wand, but it can't increase their budget allocations with the wave of a wand. Watching helplessly as new and old municipalities lose their temper bickering over 10 or 20 billion, while the Executive Yuan feigns innocence, as if the problem had nothing to do with them. We really want to say is, if you have the power to make 400 billion evaporate, just like that, yet can't manage to raise a measly 20 billion, just how incompetent are you?

Note that the losses repeatedly mentioned here are official government losses. We don't even know how to begin to calculate private sector losses! Forget everthing else. Just remember the impact of the ruling DPP's October 2000 announcement that it was halting construction on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. Within 18 days the TAIEX fell below 6000. By the end of the year it had fallen to 4600. By 2001, Taiwan's economy was in serious decline. According to Mastercard International's Consumer Confidence Index, that year consumer confidence on Taiwan fell to a ten year low, Anyone with a memory on Taiwan remembers it well. How much their net worth shrank. But from whom can we demand an accounting?

Even more interesting is the fact that not one representative of a government that has allowed 400 billion NT to evaporate, has stepped forward to take responsibility for this debacle. Not one individual has come forth to say to the people "We're sorry." Not one individual has even come forth to offer say "We regret what happened." If the corporate management of a corporation in the private sector, or the CEO of a multinational corporation, loses tens of millions of dollars a year, or even several million dollars a year, in all probability he will be ashamed to face the board of directors and the shareholders. Yet a government which has wasted over 400 billion dollars has the chutzpah to assume an air of self-righteous indignation. Perhaps it's merely coincidence, but the same year that it announced that it was suspending work on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, the premier was also Chang Chun-hsiung. And Chang maintains even today, that the economic recession of that year, was the result of a global recession, and had nothing to do with the halted construction on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. As for the 400 billion which simply evaporated from sight, no responsible explanation has been offered. Out of sight, out of mind. Isn't that the way it works?

Now because global warming and the impact of the Kyoto Protocol have become serious, major nations are limiting the growth of fossil fuel fired power plants, . and aggressively building nuclear power plants, last year even Lee Yuan-tse and Annette Lu began publicly advocating reconsidering the development of nuclear power generation. How ironic considering the change in political climate from a few years ago? Not ony is our Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is far from ready to begin official operation. Nobody dares to guess how much more taxpayer money will have to evaporate before it is. It looks like we will just have to wait and see.

Most disturbing of all is that a government which has allowed 400 billion vanish into thin air, has no need to shoulder any responsibility whatsoever. Instead, it can assume an air of self-righteous indignation. If it commits an even more serious blunder in the future, resulting in an even monumental debacle, and wastes even more ROC taxpayer dollars, or place ROC citizens in even greater danger, one will probably never be able to find anyone willing to assume responsibility.

中國時報 A2/焦點新聞 2007/08/04
《社論》四千億憑空蒸發 找不到人負責
【時報】

最近有一則新聞，並未引起各界太多的注意，但我們卻對這則新聞感慨良多！這則新聞是說原本預計在後年七月商業運轉的核四第一號機，因為包商開立倒閉，工程至少要再多延滯八個月以上，換言之，因為核四停工所造成的工程落後，總計已長達四年以上。根據中研院的一位經濟學者估算，核四因為停工所造成工期延後，光是工程支出就要增加一六○○億。而再根據立法院的調查數據，從行政院宣布停建核四後所衍生出的契約變更、漲價準備金、改以火力電廠替代發電每年多支出的燃料成本等，所耗費的成本已高達二三四五億元。用最簡單的算術說，台灣人這幾年為了核四停工又復工，已經整整付出了四千多億的代價！

四千多億究竟是多少？對升斗小民而言，這是個遙不可及的天文數字，想都不敢去想！我們何妨就拿最通俗的中央政府總預算來對比吧，以九十五年度立法院審議通過的中央政府總預算論，大約是一兆三千七百多億元，而四千多億大約已經接近台灣一個年度總預算的三分之一了，驚人吧！那些貪汙舞弊所Ａ掉的錢算什麼，連零頭都不到。為一個配合意識形態需要所作的政策決定，讓四千多億元就這麼簡單的從人間蒸發了！

嘗試想想，就算模擬一下好了！這四千多億如果沒浪費掉，可以做多少事？台北縣升格為直轄市之後，這幾天為了與北高兩市爭奪統籌分配款，為了一百億兩百億的預算分配爭得臉紅脖子粗，幾近乎翻臉！行政院擺明了錢就只有這麼多，台北縣多要一點，北高兩市就得要砍多少，中央那邊再多一塊也不給！這證明當初台北縣的升格，純粹只是配合當時蘇貞昌黨內總統初選的造勢，連最起碼的財政準備都沒有！換言之，未來就算台中市盼到了升格，怕也是會在同一塊大餅裡分，行政院有本事讓縣市說升格就升格，卻沒本事擴編統籌分配款的規模，眼睜睜看著新舊直轄市為了一兩百億不惜翻臉，行政院還一副無辜狀，好像完全不干他們的事！我們真想說：有本事讓四千億從人間蒸發，卻連個一兩百億的統籌分配款都挪不出來，這種治理能耐讓人該怎麼說呢？

請注意，這裡一再提及的四千億還是官方所付出的代價，民間部門的損失還不知道該怎麼算呢！別的不提了，還記得二○○○年十月執政當局宣布停建核四的時所造成的衝擊嗎？當時十八天內國內股價跌破六千點，年底更跌到四千六百點，到了二○○一年台灣總體經濟即面臨嚴重衰退，根據萬事達卡國際組織的消費信心指數，那一年台灣人的消費信心跌至十年的最低，有點記憶力的台灣人當清楚記得，自己的財產在那一時段縮水了多少！但能找誰去算帳呢？

更有趣的是，一個讓四千多億平白從人間蒸發的政府，到現在為止都不曾有人出面表示過要負責，當然也沒有人出面向人民道過一聲歉，連聲「遺憾」的表達都不曾聽聞過；一個民間上市公司的經理部門，或是跨國公司的ＣＥＯ，年度業績甭說虧上千萬，就算虧損個幾百萬大概都無顏見董事會與股東吧！而面對一個浪費掉四千多億的政府，我們所領教的還經常是副「理直氣壯」的嘴臉！或許還真是湊巧，當年宣布讓核四停工的，正是現任的行政院長張俊雄，而他到現在都還堅持，當年的經濟衰退，是全球性的不景氣所致，與核四停建完全無關，至於這筆從人間蒸發的四千億，卻是到現在也沒給個負責任的說法，好像沒了就是沒了，要不還能怎樣？

如今由於全球暖化問題嚴重，加上京都議定書的效應，主要國家都在抑制火力發電廠的成長，相對的還在積極搶建核電廠，連李遠哲與呂秀蓮都在去年公開主張應重新考慮發展核電，這種時代氛圍的改變相對於幾年前，是多麼的反諷？可咱們的核四不僅距離正式運轉還早得很，未來還會再蒸發掉多少納稅人的稅金，誰也不敢估計，看來我們也只能等著瞧了！

更令人不安的是，一個讓四千億憑空消失的政府，可以不必有人擔負起任何責任，還可理直氣壯的繼續揮霍，未來若是犯了更大的錯，捅了更大的樓子，浪費台灣人更多的稅金，甚至將全體台灣人都推到更大險境，怕也永遠都找不到任何人肯負責了！