President Chen Shui-bian said that Taiwan will place environmental sustainability above economic growth in order to make Taiwan a healthful, safe and comfortable place to live in.
The president made this statement while speaking at a conference on national sustainable development held on April 21 by the National Council for Sustainable Development of the Executive Yuan.
The president said that in the past half-century Taiwan has paid a pricey cost for its "economic miracle," namely the pollution and destruction of nature. And for the benefit of later generations, the president said in the conference that Taiwan must strike a balance between economic development and environmental and ecological protection.
The president then reminded his audience that, in order to protect the environment, the government formulated "Taiwan's Agenda for the 21st Century" and set up the "National Council for Sustainable Development" under the Executive Yuan in 2000, and in 2002, in response to the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development, declared its "Action Plan for Sustainable Development."
Lastly the president made an advance announcement that the government has planned to hold another national conference on sustainable growth of Taiwan's economy, to be held in May or June this year. The sequence of the two conferences signifies that the government focuses on economic development as well as environmental sustainability, said the president.
In conclusion, the president wished the conference a great success.