President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of October 1 attended the opening ceremonies of the 18th congress of the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce and the third joint conference of directors and supervisors. The president introduced the government's visions regarding economic stimulus and participation in regional economic integration, and concrete measures to achieve these objectives.
In remarks, the president stated that Taiwan's economic growth and exports starting at the beginning of this year were affected by the debt crisis in the eurozone. The government's economic monitoring indicator in August flashed a blue light for the 10th consecutive month , he said, while the unemployment rate registered 4.4% and the annual rise in the consumer price index stood at 3.42%. Some of these figures set new highs for the past several years, he said. However, economic data for September so far have begun to point to an improvement in the economy. The Manufacturing Production Index , for example, is looking good, and exports turned from negative to positive growth during the first three weeks of September. Also, the minister of economic affairs, the governor of Taiwan's Central Bank, and the president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research all believe that economic conditions are beginning to change for the better.
The president stressed that the government will not become overly optimistic in response to this information, but instead will actively implement the Economic Power-Up Plan introduced by the Executive Yuan with the hope of expanding exports, improving the nation's economic structure, creating more jobs, increasing investment, and recruiting outstanding talent.
With respect to abolishing export barriers, President Ma stated that two years ago Taiwan and mainland China signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), and within two months of this development Singapore expressed its willingness to negotiate an economic cooperation agreement with Taiwan. The negotiations towards an agreement are progressing smoothly, the president commented. Meanwhile, last year New Zealand also expressed an interest in a similar agreement with Taiwan, and the two sides commenced talks on an accord in May of this year. President Ma expressed his hope that results will be seen with regard to both of these prospective agreements in the near future.
The president stated that since the implementation of the ECFA, the monetary value and percentage of industrial and agricultural products exported to mainland China and covered under the agreement have far exceeded those items not included on the early harvest list. This points to the benefits of the ECFA, he said, adding that foreign investment in Taiwan has also increased as a result. In particular, Japan can utilize Taiwan as a springboard from which to export to mainland China, the president stated, explaining that this is the reason why Japanese companies are motived to invest here. President Ma noted that the latest Business Risk Service report released by Business Environment Risk Intelligence (BERI) of the US showed that Taiwan's investment environment was the fourth best in the world, behind only Singapore, Switzerland, and Norway. This demonstrates that the government's efforts to improve the investment environment here are beginning to pay dividends, he said.
President Ma also mentioned that the issue of US beef imports to Taiwan was resolved in July, which has paved the way for the resumption of trade talks that have been stalled for five years. In the future, Taiwan intends to engage in further negotiations with the United States regarding investment and customs cooperation under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), he said, adding that Taiwan is aiming to gradually achieve its objective of trade and economic liberalization. The president pointed to the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement signed between the two countries last year, as well as three pacts signed between Taiwan and mainland China in August: the Cross-Strait Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement; the Cross-Strait Customs Cooperation Agreement; and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on cross-strait currency clearance. All of these agreements constitute concrete moves by the government to abolish barriers to external trade and attract foreign investment, he said. President Ma remarked that the government will continue with its efforts in this regard and will do even more.
The president stated that the history of Taiwan shows that opening up to the outside world has brought prosperity, while closing ourselves off has caused contraction . The term "opening up," he said, refers to more than just other people opening their markets. Rather, we also must take steps at the same time to open our own markets. In this process, however, some industries will inevitably be impacted. In response to this, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has already allocated a budget of NT$95 billion to provide assistance to affected industries to help them restructure, he said, adding that relief assistance will also be provided in order to minimize the blow of trade liberalization to these sectors.
The president expressed his belief that if Taiwan is able to sign economic cooperation agreements with Singapore and New Zealand, as well as resume negotiations with the United States under the TIFA, the nation's hope of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership within eight years will be given a major boost. In facthat case, Taiwan may even be able to achieve its goal ahead of schedule, he said. In addition, the government will also take active part in other aspects of economic integration. It will absolutely not stray away from the main theme of globalization, the president said, expressing his belief that this will afford Taiwan even more opportunities for economic development.
President Ma emphasized that the macroeconomic environment is undoubtedly quite sluggish. On the other hand, not all news is bad, he said. The government will take timely advantage of positive developments to achieve results that make the public feel better off, he stated. The president explained that fruit and vegetable prices here rose sharply in August as a result of damage caused by Typhoon Saola, but after more than a month of efforts, produce prices have stabilized. The government will continue to work to stabilize the prices of basic goods, he said, adding that the efforts of the Executive Yuan in this regard will soon be clear to all.
President Ma applauded the charity work of Taiwan-invested businesses based overseas. He noted that many firms have generously assisted by providing disaster relief and coming to the aid of underprivileged groups, enabling the people of Taiwan to sense a close bond with these firms. The president expressed his hope that members of World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce will take advantage of this trip back to Taiwan to exchange opinions with industry counterparts and government officials on a variety of issues of shared concern. This will help enhance their business performance and expand Taiwan's overseas markets, he said.
Among those participating in the opening ceremonies were World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce President Jonathan Huang (黃正勝 ), Overseas Chinese Affairs Council Minister Wu Ying-yih (吳英毅 ), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Shen-Yeaw Ko (柯森耀 ), Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Francis Kuo-hsin Liang (梁國新), Senior Advisor to the President Yao Eng-Chi (饒穎奇), and Deputy Secretary-General to the President Hsiung Kuang-hua (熊光華).