Taipei, July 11 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian denied Wednesday that Taiwan is degenerating, dismissing such a concept as "unfounded."
Chen said during an inspection tour of the Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF) that some people have deliberately spread the concept of "Taiwan degeneration" amid the current domestic economic slowdown. "Such a claim is unthinkable in view of Taiwan's solid economic foundation and vitality," Chen said, adding that Taiwan's present economic woes mainly result from economic restructuring and transformation.
Noting that adjustment and metamorphosis are necessary processes in national economic development, Chen said he is convinced that Taiwan would be able to cope with challenges of ongoing economic liberalization and globalization.
In recent years, Chen said, many people have invested in the high-tech industrial sector due to a global high-tech boom. As a result, many traditional industries have suffered adverse impacts, including capital retrenchment.
Chen said the government is fully aware of the plights of traditional industries and is determined to help them reinvent themselves and find a new lease of life. "After visiting several textile factories around the island, I don't think that textile is a sunset industry. On the contrary, I find that local textile makers have introduced advanced production and management technologies," Chen said, adding he believes that Taiwan's textile industry still has a bright future.
Chen said Germany and Italy have been the world's major textile exporting countries. "If the two high-wage countries can excel in textile exports, I believe that Taiwan can also make it," he added.
Textile has been one of Taiwan's most important foreign exchange earners. According to TTF tallies, Taiwan exported US$15.22 billion worth of textile goods in 2000 and its textile imports totaled US$2.89 billion during the same period. Due to a global economic recession, Taiwan's textile industry is facing export slowdown and many other difficulties.
Chen said his administration has consistently given priority to boosting the development of textile industry. He told senior textile industry executives that the planned economic development consulting group will reserve a seat for textile industry representative.
Moreover, Chen said he has ordered Vice Economics Minister Lin Yi-fu to organize a specialist panel to work out feasible ways to help textile makers resolve a host of problems presented at Wednesday's meeting in two months.