High inflation for Taiwan’s poorest poses election risk for DPP

TAIPEI – Stubbornly high inflation, especially for low-income households, poses a challenge to Taiwan’s government as it counts down to the January 2024 election. 

Taiwan’s consumer price index rose 2.9 per cent in November versus the same month in 2022, according to a statement from the government’s statistics bureau on Dec 6.

While slightly higher than expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg, it did mark a slight easing from October’s 3.05 per cent increase.

A key concern for the government will be inflation for low-income households, which held above 3 per cent for a third straight month.

With the prices of basic food items such as pork and fruit surging, the gap between inflation for the island’s poorest families and overall price increases was the widest since March. 

The slow progress in bringing prices back under control could hurt the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the upcoming election.

Inflation is one of the key domestic issues in the run-up to January’s vote, with the government struggling to tame the prices of key staples such as meat and eggs over the past year. 

The DPP presidential candidate and current Vice-President

Lai Ching-te is leading the race

with the support of 38 per cent of respondents, according to a My Formosa poll released on Dec 5.

Mr Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang is in second spot with 31.7 per cent and Mr Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party trails with 14.9 per cent. BLOOMBERG