President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of March 9 attended the inauguration of the container terminal at the Port of Taipei. Speaking at the ceremony marking the opening of the facility, President Ma stressed that the opening of the port puts Taiwan one step closer to its goal of becoming a springboard to the Asia-Pacific region. It also shows that Taiwan has taken a step forward to becoming a modernized country, he said.
Speaking on the significance of the container terminal at the Port of Taipei and the piers that will gradually be opened in the future with respect to Taiwan's economic development as well as from a global strategic perspective, the president said that the Taiwan of five years, 10 years and 20 years from now will be a place that serves as an innovation center, an Asia-Pacific trading hub and a center for the headquarters of Taiwan companies. In order to realize these objectives, Taiwan must thoroughly improve its transportation infrastructure and links that connect it to the rest of the world. This is the reason that within just six months of taking office, the new government sought to achieve the opening of the three links with mainland China, he said. President Ma said the government wants to take maximum advantage of the competitive edge that Taiwan enjoys thanks to its favorable geographic location. Over the past 60 years, Taiwan's geographic advantage has been limited by political and military factors. Today, we want to lift those constraints, he said, enabling Taiwan to truly play an important role in the decades to come.
President Ma said that last week when he attended the Hsieh Nien Fan banquet at the American Chamber of Commerce, he mentioned in remarks to the gathering that the organization seven or eight years ago already began urging Taiwan not to look at itself as a small local market, but rather that it should view itself as a springboard to the Asia-Pacific region. The president said he is confident that the opening of the container terminal at the Port of Taipei has brought Taiwan one step closer to its goal of becoming a regional springboard.
The president added that as we look to the future, we not only need to gradually complete the construction of the piers at the facility, but must also make plans for a well-balanced division of labor with regards to container transportation and port facilities at the Port of Taipei, Keelung Harbor and Port of Kaohsiung. Each place has its strengths and each has the ability to develop. However, all three should cooperate, he said. Even more important is that there are many new ports in the Asia-Pacific region. An important challenge facing Taiwan is how to gain a competitive edge to help us develop sources of cargo, he said.
President Ma said in the future, the construction of the port facilities and the enormous reclamation of land will provide the Port of Taipei even more possibilities to realize its potential. Land reclamation will help in addressing the long problem of what to do with waste dirt. The size of a logistics zone planned for the area is sufficient to hold 70 million cubic meters of fill. The president asked the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Public Construction Commission to engage in thorough planning in order to best utilize fill and reclaim land.
The president commented that while the inauguration today is being held in drizzly conditions and a cold wind is sweeping through the area, he is confident that everyone is still delighted to see the opening of the container terminal. This makes us feel that Taiwan is one step closer to becoming a modernized country, he said. The president said everyone should be pleased that this vision is gradually being realized.