Taipei, July 16 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Wednesday that economic security is key to Taiwan's national security.
Chen made the remarks while attending a ground-breaking ceremony for a plant built by Optodisc Technology Corp. at the newly constructed Duhsing Compound within the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (HSIP) in northern Taiwan.
Hailing the new compound -- formerly a military barracks refurbished as a high-tech foothold designed to house companies wishing to set up shop in the HSIP -- as a symbol of the military's resolve to cooperate in the government's economic development drive, Chen said the compound is also a concrete evidence that local businesses are retaining their roots in Taiwan and investing first in Taiwan. "This symbolizes that the military has caught up with the pace of the country's economic progress and reflects sound coordination between government agencies, as well as providing proof of the administration's execution, " Chen said.
Stressing that national security goes far beyond the narrowly defined military strategy or weapons deployment, Chen said real national and military security must be based on a comprehensive security strategy, to which economic strategy is of vital importance. "Should Taiwan be unable to secure its economic security, it is tantamount to losing its national security," the president added.
Construction of the compound kicked off May 14 last year and 80 percent of its public construction is already complete. The Hsinchu-based Optodisc -- a DVD RW and DVD-R manufacturer -- was the first of the 12 companies based in the compound to build a production plant there.