Vice Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國),
Minister Chen Bao-Ji (陳保基), Council of Agriculture,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning!
2,500 years ago, Confucius said, "Isn't it delightful to have friends coming from afar?" Of course, we don't need Confucius to remind us how delighted I am today to see so many friends coming from all over the world to attend the 2013 International Conference on Consumer Protection, focusing particularly on child consumers.
Consumption takes various forms and covers every aspect of our lives, from birth to death. It involves a variety of things ranging from goods to services. The objective of protection is people's lives, property, and economic interests. In their dealings with business operators, consumers are often at a disadvantage. They have less access to information, and are in a weaker financial position. Therefore, the government must intervene to protect them – to try to safeguard their lives, their health, and their interest in a happy living. This conference is themed around child consumer protection, because children are the most disadvantaged and vulnerable type of consumers, and thus have the greatest need of protection. That makes this conference all the more important.
I am truly glad to see that this conference is focusing on child product safety, as well as the Internet, mobile communications, consumer education, and other emerging issues. I believe that by sharing information on the policies, legislation, and measures adopted by different countries, and by discussing actual case histories, we can better protect the rights of child consumers. Ladies and gentlemen, you are all top experts in this field, so we are very fortunate to have you here sharing your wisdom and experience with us.
I have always been concerned about consumer protection in this country. During my tenure in office as the mayor of Taipei City, I also served as a member of the former Consumer Protection Commission, and we focused on a variety of things that seriously concerned the interests of our citizens, for instance, transportation safety. I attached a lot of importance to the prevention and punishment of drunk driving. We actually, in practice, sealed full blocks in restaurant districts in order to check almost everyone who consumed there, including myself. My car was always checked by the police, the reason being that only when everyone follows the rules and the law, can safety and consumer interests be protected. This makes a lot of sense, and made Taipei's drunken driving rate the lowest in the country.
Another very important aspect of our effort was devoted to consumer awareness. This is a key element of success in any consumer protection movement. In the last couple of months, we have had a series of food safety issues in Taiwan, and some untrue advertisements. This is actually the result of a heightened consumer awareness of their own interests. Fortunately, the government responded promptly and vigorously to check thousands of food and other consumer products to make sure that all the safe ones are listed on the Internet for consumers to choose.
Globalization is bringing nations around the world together, while heavy use of the Internet and mobile communications is reducing the distances between people all around the world, so international cooperation is badly needed in many cases of cross-border violation of consumer rights. Through international cooperation, we can do more to promote the green economy, conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions, and take care of disadvantaged people. Therefore, consumer protection is not a task to be addressed only internally by governments acting individually. It requires international cooperation. We hope that this conference will help bring children's issues to the world's attention. We need to rethink how to improve existing systems so that they meet the needs of consumers in a new era.
I remember when I first became aware of consumer protection more than 40 years ago, when I was a college student. I read about the story of Ralph Nader. I'm sure every one of you knows him, and his book entitled Unsafe at Any Speed. That was his first campaign against a large American auto maker, and it reminded the world that goods manufactured by world-renowned firms could also have defects. He's still alive, and he's participated in the American presidential elections a few times, but the legacy he's left has awakened many people around the world to the fact that our interests need to be protected.
In closing, I hope all participants will benefit from this conference, and all of our foreign guests will derive a lot from the trip to Taiwan. As president of this country, and former mayor of this city, I certainly urge you to take time out of your very busy schedules to enjoy the rich cultural life of this city and this country. The first thing I would advise you to do if you are a first-time visitor to this country, is to go to the National Palace Museum, where you can see art treasures from the last 30 centuries of this country and culture. In addition, I would suggest that you visit a night market to have a taste of many different foods and pastries of this city. And, last but not least, I suggest that you try to do as much shopping everywhere you go to help our economy.
Thank you very much.