President Chen Shui-bain today attended the presentation ceremony of the "14th National and 7th Overseas Taiwanese Businessmen Bedrock Award" and spoke during the event.
The president's speech:
I am very glad today to be invited again and attend this presentation ceremony of the "14th National and 7th overseas Taiwanese Businessmen Bedrock Award." First of all, I want to congratulate on behalf of the government all the winners who have earned your awards by excellent performances and have gained approval through rigorous examinations.
Just like what this award has symbolized, the small and medium enterprises are the sources of Taiwan's economic vitality and are the foundation of Taiwan's successful stories. The small and medium enterprises have become the name of Taiwan in the world market. People turn successful because they have dreams and ambitions, and starting a business has been seen as one of the most realistic ways in achieving this end. Each small and medium enterprise represents a vision and a goal to fight for. The reason why Taiwan's development over the past half century has been so convincing is because it contains all the dreams and visions of all these people. And Taiwan has exhibited remarkable resilience and vitality because of these people.
To allow more startup entrepreneurs to realize their visions and to help small and medium enterprises obtain sustainable growth, the government has worked with banks to offer NT$200 billion in loans and has discussed with local financial institutions to come up with measures about loan offerings. Meanwhile, to augment the size of the Small and Medium Business Credit Guarantee Fund, we have increased some NT$100 billion in guarantee fund to serve as the safety net for the ventures of small and medium enterprises. We have also assisted the businesses in transformation and upgrading with the government giving support in technology innovation, nurturing of talents, and marketing.
On the other hand, the government has devised a system to attract small and medium enterprises which have been engaging in business abroad and have gained experiences and knowledge about the world market to bring back home. The Ministry of Economic Affairs has put together 12 resources and has set up a mechanism to facilitate those who do business abroad to return to Taiwan. The Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission also initiated the "Salmon Come Home Project." Purpose of both policies is aimed at re-connecting the overseas businesspeople with Taiwan and at reinvigorating and bringing creativity to the industries of Taiwan.
To meet the challenge of global competition, Taiwan's small and medium enterprises should make the best use of industry cluster and develop a technology industry that is based on knowledge-oriented economy. A production model of high value-added products can be established as a result. It is also essential that the small and medium enterprises combine the up and down stream resources to expand overseas market so that Taiwan can become one of the links in the international supply chain.
Over the past 14 years, the "National Bedrock Award" of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises has honored excellent businesses that have upgraded and transformed their industries with success. Purpose of this award is to encourage enterprises to bring new opportunities to Taiwan's industries with their innovation so the country's niche and sustainable development can be protected. And concrete results in this regard have been shown after years of efforts. I hope that both the government and the private sectors, especially the small and medium enterprises, could work together again and write a new chapter for Taiwan's economic development.