Taipei, Oct. 16 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Thursday that the textile sector is by no means a sunset industry and he urged the country's textile entrepreneurs to accelerate innovation to elevate their competitiveness.
Chen made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the three-day Textile International Forum and Exhibition 2003 (TIFE) at the Taipei International Convention Center.
The president noted that the textile industry has played a key role in the island's economic development and that the scale of the global textile market and its trade opportunities are still growing.
He urged domestic enterprises to strengthen their research and development and innovation to establish an image of high-quality textile products of Taiwan in the global market.
Chen said entrepreneurs should put more effort into developing textile products using nanotechnology, and articles with specific functions such as for disaster protection and relief, as well as for the medical field.