Vice President Annette Lu today attended the opening of the Changhua Big County Exhibition Series and the 2005 Changhua Automated Industries Exhibition in Changhua County. After the opening, she went to Erlin Township for the inauguration of the Taiwan Wine Villages Joint Service Center and announced the winners of the New Grape Wines Awards.
During the opening of the Changhua County Exhibition, Vice President Lu said that three years ago, she came to the Changbin Industrial Zone and saw how sluggish and desolate it was. But today, the number of factories in the zone gave her a feeling of flourishing prosperity.
Two years ago, thanks to the support given by President Chen Shui-bian, the Changhua County Flowers and Plants Exposition opened with a bustling attendance of spectators. It made Changhua famous as the Flowers and Plants county, said the Vice President, further confirming its future in developing plants and flowers that together with its automated industries show that Changhua is no longer an agricultural county. It is a county with life, a county of expositions, said Vice President Lu. Today, the Automated Industries Exhibition is a sign that Changhua industry is on the right track.
Vice President Lu appealed to everyone to leave their hearts in and be in communion with Taiwan. She said that according to the recently published World Bank Index on National Governance, even though Taiwan has shown some backslides, its index marks are still much higher than Mainland China's in terms of right to speech and political responsibility, political stability, government efficiency, quality of law and legal processes and safeguards against corruption. The Index was the outcome of research and assessments carried out by 31 international organizations and showed that Taiwan's area may be small, but "you don't have to be big, to be spicy," said the Vice President.
Vice President Lu urged the industrialists present to utilize know-how to make a mark in the world, similar to the Taiwan Zones soon to be established in Central America. Hopefully, these zones would enable our various industrial technologies to establish a foothold in Central American countries with diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Of special significance are the eight Central American countries with free trade agreements with North and South America. In the future, the 490 million total populations of the 34 countries in the American continent will be the world's largest market. By setting up Taiwan Zones, we hope to travel on this American superhighway and try for a bigger, more stable market.
During the inauguration of the Taiwan Wine Villages Joint Service Center and upon seeing how Erlin Township was full of grape orchards, Vice President Lu said that upon arrival, she was delighted by the smell of wine. A few days ago, a news report showed First Lady Wu Shu-jen and her daughter-in-law visiting a wine village in California. The Vice President said that when she returns to Taipei, she plans to call the First Lady to share with her that Taiwan has such a delightful place as well.
Industry should be imbued with culture and culture should also be industrialized, said Vice President Lu, and Changhua's establishment of the Taiwan Wine Villages Joint Service Center was the best way to accomplish this.
After announcing the winners of the New Grape Wines Awards, the people of Erlin Township invited the Vice President to come back again to taste their new wines.