President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of February 21 presided over a meeting at the Presidential Building to examine present macroeconomic trends and strategies to counter problems currently being faced. Related agencies delivered assessment briefings, and the president issued the following directives after discussion among the participants:
1. President Ma and Vice President Vincent C. Siew are concerned about the state of the local economy. Premier Liu Chao-shiuan and other top ranking finance and economic officials were specially invited to the Presidential Building to present reports on the state of the economy and countermeasures. President Ma expressed his approval for the wide ranging efforts made by his administrative team over the past nine months in an effort to revitalize the economy and minimize the impact from the global financial tsunami.
2. Over the past nine months, the general direction of the strategies adopted by the government in response to the global economic turbulence has been correct. A range of both short-term and long-term measures to boost the economy and address unemployment have been introduced, and the actions of the government here have been every bit as aggressive as those taken by other nations. In the days ahead, the government will continue to monitor the timeliness of implementation and the reaction from the public. Budgets have been secured for various public infrastructure projects, and therefore bidding and execution of the projects should be undertaken as soon as possible. For projects that are not yet funded, preliminary steps should be taken to prepare for bidding procedures in advance, in order to reduce the time needed to get the projects running upon budgetary approval. Equal emphasis must be placed on administrative efficiency and quality, which is important to prevent abuse. It is hoped that the legislature will pass in a timely manner a special NT$500 billion budget for the next four years so as to avoid impacting government efforts to improve the economy.
3. With regards to industrial planning, government agencies should draft concrete strategies within the next three months that will focus on diversifying export products, encouraging local industry to establish their own brands, and acquiring critical technologies. These plans should especially address the development of key emerging industries, such as tourism, medical care, biotechnology, green energy, culture & creativity, and advanced farming. More resources should be devoted to expanding the scale of these sectors in order to boost the output value of these emerging industries. In addition, efforts should be provided to attract private investment. Furthermore, assistance should be offered to aid in the development of old economy industries in order to develop new markets and business opportunities.
4. Major spending by the government this year will do much to make up for a long-standing shortfall in government investment over the past several years. However, regulations still need to be relaxed and tax incentives put in place to entice private investment and attract the private sector to invest in the country’s economic development.
5. A reshuffling of global industry will take place on the heels of the worldwide economic crisis. Taiwan must find its own position in this process and foster development of industries in which it will have a competitive advantage. Amid today’s tough economic circumstances, efforts must be made not only to address short-term problems, but rather to use this opportunity to undertake long-term planning. This will lay the foundation for Taiwan’s development during the next stage of global competition.
6. In addition to implementing measures to bolster employment, the government also should focus on the training and recruitment of highly skilled manpower. Efforts need to be made to effectively nurture and bring in R&D personnel with a high level of expertise who will be needed in the next wave of industrial development here.
7. Normalization of cross-strait economic and trade relations is a key priority in cross-strait relations. We should look at the realities of cross-strait trade and establish a reasonable framework under the principle of "putting Taiwan first for the benefit of the people," and sign a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with mainland China. The title, content and form of the agreement are open to discussion among the public, and opposition parties are welcome to join in the discussion in an effort to seek public consensus.