Laura Frati Gucci, World President of FCEM (Femmes Chefs d'Enterprises Mondiales, World Association of Women Entrepreneurs);
Françoise Foning, Honorary President with mandate of FCEM;
Leyla Khaïat, Honorary President with mandate of FCEM;
May Lu (呂錦美), President of the Taiwanese Women's Entrepreneurs Association;
Cecilia Y. Koo (辜嚴倬雲), Senior Advisor to the President;
Yen Feng(馮燕), Minister without Portfolio;
Wei-Kang Pan (潘維剛), Member of the Legislative Yuan;
Huei-Chen Chiang (江惠貞), Member of the Legislative Yuan;
Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs;
Ray Mou (牟華瑋), Director-General of the foreign ministry's Department of NGO International Affairs;
Distinguished guests;
Members of the press;
Ladies and gentlemen:
Good evening!
I am extremely glad to be here at the 62nd FCEM World Congress. First of all, on behalf of the government and people of the Republic of China (Taiwan), I would like to welcome the delegates, many of whom have traveled a long way to attend this Congress. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to the host for all the hard work it has done to organize this event.
Before I start my short address, I would like to announce a piece of good news to you, which I just received from Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺). Two Taiwanese women weightlifters, Hsu Shu-ching (許淑淨) and Lin Tzu-chi (林子琦), won one gold medal each at the Asian Games in Inchon, Korea. Both women set new world records in the under-53-kilogram and 63-kilogram categories. They will get an award of NT$3 million, or US$100,000 each, for the gold medals, and an extra NT$1 million, or US$33,000, for the new world records they each set. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring this up because I want to let you see how women outperform men in sports in this country. Please watch out! They may do the same in business, as well, in the future. We men have to catch up quick.
Since the FCEM's establishment in France in late 1945, it has been dedicated to promoting female entrepreneurship and helping businesswomen take on a higher profile in society. For the many women's entrepreneur associations around the world, the FCEM has provided an ideal environment for exchanging ideas and best practices for the past 69 years. This year marks the first time since the organization was founded that the FCEM World Congress is being held in the Republic of China on Taiwan. We are honored to be hosting this event, and feel it is very meaningful because it affords Taiwan a splendid opportunity to play an active role in the international community.
The Taiwanese Women's Entrepreneurs Association (TWEA) was established in 1980. It now has 24 local branch associations and more than 1,500 members. For 34 years now, it has strived to use the collective strength of the most talented women in Taiwan's business community to carry out charitable work in Taiwan. Among the various Taiwanese women's business organizations that participate substantively in the activities of international NGOs, TWEA is certainly one of the most important.
Moreover, under the capable leadership of its presidents over the years, and with the enthusiastic input of its members, the TWEA has been able to expand, thrive, and improve steadily. It has also earned many awards and plaudits here from government agencies for its outstanding performance. I am very honored to be able to tell you, by the way, that my mother was an honorary president of the TWEA, and I myself attended the organization's festivities celebrating its 29th and 31st anniversaries in 2009 and 2011. I would like to express my deep admiration for all the TWEA has done to promote public service and charitable activities.
In Taiwan, over the past few decades, the ways in which women participate in our society have changed considerably. Whereas the women's labor force participation rate stood at 39% in 1980, this figure went up to 50% in 2013. In addition, more than 489,000 businesses were run by women in 2013, which was about 10,000 more than in 2012. Among business proprietors, women account for 36%, and this figure is still on the rise. Clearly, the role of female entrepreneurs in Taiwan's economy is just too significant to be ignored. I would like to express my personal thanks and admiration to the women of Taiwan for their tremendous contributions to our nation's economic development.
Due to the momentous changes now occurring in the global economic and trade environment, including the regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific, Taiwan's only way forward is to liberalize and internationalize its economy. And we are indeed moving in that direction. Last year, for example, we signed economic cooperation agreements with New Zealand and Singapore. Signing these agreements demonstrates our resolve to liberalize our economy, and it also helps pave the way for us to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). These are the two most important economic alliances in this part of the world. In the future, I would like to see our nation make a more active contribution to development and well-being, both globally and regionally.
In closing, I hope that our guests from abroad will extend their stay after the meeting, see a bit more of Taiwan and its gorgeous scenery, and get acquainted with our unique culture. I do believe that, the better you know our country, the more you'll like it! I would especially like to recommend that you visit the National Palace Museum, where you will see the art treasures of the last 3,000 years, as collected by dozens of emperors. In the evening, I would suggest that you visit a night market to taste some of the hundreds of local snacks that are sold there. And last but not least, please do as much shopping as possible to help our economy. I wish the Congress a great success, and may all of you enjoy continued good health and prosperity. Thank you very much!