Often mistakenly regarded as a mere continuation of the Economic Development Advisory Conference (EDAC) held five years ago, the CSTED is different in nature. While the focuses of the former, "growth" and "development," were directed at how to stimulate economic resuscitation and remedy unemployment at that time, the latter, in its adherence to "equilibrium, sustainability, prosperity, and justice," aims to comprehensively examine Taiwan's long-term, structural, and controversial economic issues and to come up with corresponding solutions.
Different from EDAC's agenda setting, the CSTED will also deal with the issues of social security, government efficiency, and cross-strait and global trades. The CSTED does not confine itself to cross-strait trade, but wishes to achieve the goals of "increasing investment in Taiwan, creating employment, narrowing the cleft between city and town, and bridging the gap between the rich and the poor," said the president.
However, EDAC's merits have been maintained in the CSTED, and the "consensus-vote" mechanism in forming conclusions is the example par excellence. Therefore, praising the CSTED as more an exemplary case of "deliberative democracy" than a mere brainstorm, the president emphasized that democracy signifies not merely election, competition, and vote, but, more importantly, tolerance, negotiation, and communication.
Besides thanking the conference organizers and participants for their efforts, the president sincerely wished them good health, and the event a great success.