CHINA TIMES: Executive Yuan should address the problem of brain drain

Recent reports have compared the salary differences of new teachers in universities in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and China.

It is worrisome to see that assistant professors in Hong Kong, Singapore and China receive salaries that are three or four times higher than their counterparts in Taiwan.

The prestigious National Taiwan University and Academia Sinica have also said they have felt the pressure of not being able to recruit top talent.

If the trend continues, we are worried that Taiwan's edge could be gradually lost. Frankly speaking, if Taiwan cannot draw talented people, it will become nothing. To help upgrade Taiwan's competitiveness, we would not suggest an across-the-board salary hike for "all" professors but rather a "partial" adjustment.

Among more than 170 colleges and universities in Taiwan, the number of universities that have to compete with Hong Kong and Singapore for top talent may be less than 20. In other words, not all universities need to raise salaries, only those that face international competition.

Even these universities do not have to raise the salary of professors in every field but only in specific disciplines.

Basically, we support flexibly adjusting salaries for professors, but the policy must be linked to the performance of the schools.

UNITED DAILY NEWS:

Government can help, but economic growth relies on private sector

The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors reached a consensus last week that there was no reason to end economic stimulus measures prematurely and that they hoped to lift the stimulus initiatives at an appropriate time.

More than one year has passed since the global economic crisis erupted, and most countries have weathered the crisis with some, such as Australia, South Korea and the United States, even returning to positive growth.

Judging from the situation, it seems that the need for drastic stimulus measures has waned, but we would point out that there is reason to have only limited confidence in the world's economic prospects.

Behind the United States' good numbers in the third quarter, we can see that consumption is at the root of its growth, while such leading indicators as private investment, loan growth and net exports remain weak. The unemployment rate even surged to 26-year high. These measures all indicate that the government has been able to prop up the economy but economic growth momentum remains stalled.

Taiwan is no exception. While exports have grown monthly since the beginning of the year, they have yet to return to pre-crisis levels. Private consumption growth has relied on consumption vouchers, excise tax subsidies for motorcycle and vehicle purchases, and various social assistance measures.

For this reason, even if the government's stimulus measures continue for the moment, we think the focus should be adjusted from administering first aid to reviving and boosting growth in the private sector.

LIBERTY TIMES:

Modern sycophants In the Chinese classics, two sycophants -- Gungshun Hung and Chang Tang -- were known to have risen to high ranks because they were good at ingratiating Emperor Hanwu in the West Han Dynasty.

In today's Taiwan, we find such sycophants abound, with the latest being Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien.

Wang said Monday that under President Ma Ying-jeou's leadership, cross-strait relations have greatly improved, and if this trend continues, the Nobel Peace Prize will someday fall on the people of the Republic of China.

We regret that an official who is supposed to maintain a neutral and independent stance acts like this. It would not surprise us that many people are trying to curry favor with Ma.

A so-called highest-level Chinese delegation from Jiangsu province arrived in Taiwan Monday, reportedly prepared to make purchases of US$2 billion in Taiwan.

We would like to point out that Taiwan businessmen invested more than US$12.5 billion in Jiangsu last year and have accumulated investment of US$94.7 billion in the province. The Jiangsu delegation's purchases would pale compared with the figure.

The Ma administration has repeatedly said that an economic cooperation framework agreement with China is necessary after the ASEAN plus One (China) zone opens on Jan. 1, 2010 to avoid being marginalized.

But we notice that other nations such as Japan and Singapore have tried to check China's development in the region in various ways.

They by no means wishfully think that their nation's survival relies on China alone.

APPLE DAILY:

Suspicions of currying favor Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien on Monday touted the cross-strait policy of President Ma Ying-jeou, which he said has improved bilateral relations and that Ma will one day receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

His words may be heartfelt, but as the head of the nation's top watchdog body, he should theoretically remain neutral and should refrain from blatantly expressing such words which might give the impression of trying to curry favor with the president.

This is especially so because the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have maintained peace for 60 years, and the United States should be given credit for that. Without Washington's strong intervention, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait would have been engulfed in wars.

Ma's cross-strait policy is built on the foundation of six decades of peace, and the peace was certainly not created by him.

(By Lilian Wu)