President Chen Shui-bian received a delegation of the "Victims of Investment in China Association" at the Office of the President on March 17, showing his advocacy again that China should not be the ultimate market.
"Evidently, no country can resist the temptation of the Chinese market, but Taiwan's over-reliance on China in trade will finally jeopardize our national sovereignty," the president reminded the guests.
The president also clarified the policy of "proactive management with effective liberalization" to the guests. "Due to biased interpretation of the previous policy of 'proactive liberalization with effective management,' liberalization has been overtly inflated and the value and idea of 'effective management' have been seriously neglected," the president said, pointing out that the misinterpretation is the cause that has victimized Taiwan's investors in China.
However, the president stressed again that Taiwan should continue to extend its reach to the world. "Taiwan is an island country, but we are never too far away from the world," said the president, emphasizing that China should never be Taiwan's ultimate market.
The president reminded the guests again of the political risks and business risks in investing in China. "It is the government's unshirkable responsibility to tell our citizens, including those who invest in China, where and what the political and business risks are," said the president.
The Victims of Investment in China Association was established two years ago and the victim members are from different ethnic groups and political parties. "The number of the victimized Taiwan investors is much larger than that of the successful ones, and the reason is rather political than economic," the chairman of the association told the president.