P 060740Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6577
INFO WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
USDOC WASHDC
AMEMBASSY BEIJING 
AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 
AIT TAIPEI 0150
CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS HONG KONG 000025 
 
 
DEPT FOR INR/R/MR, INR/IC/CD, I/FW 
DEPT FOR EAP/PD, EAP/CM, EAP/P 
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WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC 
PRC POSTS FOR PA 
AIT 
USPACOM FOR FOR CIS PD ADVISER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S. ECONOMY 
 
TOPIC: U.S. economy 
 
HEADLINES AND EXCERPTS: 
 
"Obama's tax cuts will not be favorable for creating new jobs" 
 
The independent Chinese-language Hong Kong Economic Times commented 
in an editorial (1/6):  "As part of the US$770 billion 
economic-stimulus package proposed by U.S. President-elect Obama, 
US$300 would be spent on tax cuts to win Republican support, so that 
the package can be implemented as soon as possible.  However, the 
tax cuts will largely cripple the power of the economic-stimulus 
package.  Obama would then need to increase the total amount of the 
package before the economy could be saved and the target of creating 
3 million jobs could be reached....  Tax cuts have greatly weakened 
the power of the US$700 billion economic-stimulus package to create 
jobs.  By cutting US$300 billion for infrastructure developments and 
for promoting industries like environmental protection, etc., it is 
feared that the stimulus package will hardly be able to reach the 
original target of creating 2.5 million jobs, not to mention 
creating 3 million jobs....  It is not at all unjustifiable for 
Obama to make political compromises.  However, if Obama wants to 
create 3 million jobs and to stabilize the economy and the society, 
he must increase the total amount of the economic-stimulus package. 
And he cannot but put aside the future trouble of a financial 
deficit at the moment." 
 
DONOVAN