President Chen Shui-bian on June 23 met with 28 labor representatives at the Office of the President, reassuring them that the government will endeavor to strike equilibrium between economic prosperity and social justice while pursuing development.
The president also emphasized to them the importance of the policy of "proactive management with effective liberalization." Quoting the summary of a report made by an established Taiwanese professor in economics, he said to his guests that the Taiwanese investment in countries other than China will result in "expansion" that has no or only minimal impact on Taiwan's labor market. But the Taiwanese investment in China, on the contrary, will entail "outsourcing" or "re-location," which will aggravate unemployment and, even worse, business shutdowns.
The president therefore reminded these labor representatives of the risk of excessive economic dependency on China.
The president also exchanged with his guests opinions on the issues of labor safety, retirement income, taxation, and social welfare.
The 28 labor representatives' visit to the Office of the President was headed by Minister Lee Ying-yuan of the Council of Labor Affairs. Deputy Secretary-General to the President Cho Jung-tai was also present in the meeting.