Taipei, Oct. 18 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Monday that Taiwan's economic growth rate is expected to reach 6 percent for this year, the highest level since 1998.
Chen made the remarks while meeting with leading members of the Global Federation of Chinese Business Women and winners of the 2004 Excellent Chinese Business Women Awards.
Under the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration's strenuous efforts to revitalize the economy and accelerate sweeping reform, Chen said Taiwan's global competitiveness and economic vitality have greatly improved in the past few years.
Quoting the latest forecast by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Chen said Taiwan's 2004 economic growth rate could reach 5.87 percent. "Barring any unexpected developments, the annual growth rate may even hit a seven-year high of 6 percent," Chen told his guests.
Chen further said that Taiwan ranks 29th among major countries around the world in terms of women's political participation based on the results of a recent survey of 129 countries released by the United Nations.
In the U.N. survey, Chen said, Taiwan outpaced other Asian countries in terms of women's political participation.
The president also said that although Taiwan didn't experience a transition of power between different political parties until 2000, it outran the United States in spawning a female vice president. "I'm convinced that Taiwan women will have even greater room in the political arena in the years to come," Chen said.
Touching on his administration's work agenda, Chen said the government will continue to carry out various political and economic reforms as well as promote the constitutional re-engineering plan.
In the meantime, Chen said, his administration will actively work for the establishment of a viable mechanism for peaceful interaction between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait for the sake of maintaining regional peace and stability. "We'll push for resumption of cross-strait dialogue on the existing foundation and craft an environment favorable for sustainable peaceful development and for the pursuit of maximum well-being for the people," Chen added.