Taiwan authority's debt up $46 bln since 2000

BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Taiwan authority's debt has risen by 1.4 trillion New Taiwan dollars (NTD, equivalent to about 46 billion U.S. dollars) since 2000, when the Democratic Progressive Party administration took power, according to Taiwan local media reports on Thursday.

Current book and hidden liabilities of the Taiwan authority were 12 to 13 trillion NTD, Shih Su-mei, head of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, was quoted by the report as saying.

The total debt is equal to a year's GDP for Taiwan or 560,000 NTD per capita, the report said, noting the huge debt posed heavy pressure for the new authority headed by Ma Ying-jeou.

Ma, the candidate representing Taiwan's Kuomintang, won the island's leadership election on March 22 and took the oath of office as the leader of the Taiwan authority on May 20.