In his remarks at the 2006 Industrial Technology Advancement Award Ceremony, President Chen Shui-bian said that in the face of fierce global competition, the local businesses must put Taiwan's interest as first while reaching out to the world.
President Chen said that in the past, Taiwan's industries specialized in OEM, but as the global structure changed, more and more labor-intensive industries moved their factories to the countries with cheaper labor. For the sake of sustainable development, President Chen said, Taiwan should shift its focus from OEM to research and development and then transform the R & D results into high value-added products. Meanwhile, looking for new markets is also critical.
"As long as we understand our competitive edge, the establishment of a Green Silicon Island would be just around the corner," said President Chen.
In the award ceremony, President Chen conferred "Award for Industrial Technology Advancement" and "National Invention and Creation Award" to the prizewinners.