On the morning of January 21 President Ma Ying-jeou attended the 2016 CommonWealth Economic Forum, where he spoke about his administration's achievements over the past eight years, and called upon his successor to preserve the hard-won peace and prosperity that currently characterize cross-strait relations.
In remarks, President Ma stated that he attends the CommonWealth Economic Forum every year to exchange views with political and business leaders, and also to raise Taiwan's international profile and increase its influence. The president praised and thanked CommonWealth magazine for its efforts to find the best way forward for Taiwan's economy.
Noting that the theme of the 2016 forum is "How Can Asia Revive Growth in the Coopetition Era?", President Ma stated that the task of spurring economic development while the global center of economic gravity shifts toward Asia has become a matter of critical importance to nations throughout Asia. Taiwan, he said, must identify its competitive advantages and make every possible effort to forge ahead. "This is an unavoidable responsibility for any future president of the ROC."
Commenting on Taiwan's economic strengths, President Ma mentioned the nation's solid industrial base, favorable location, and strong capacity for innovation. For other nations in both Asia and around the world, Taiwan is a vitally important economic and trade partner. Over the past eight years the government has adopted an open attitude, pushing for trade liberalization, doing away with the isolationist policies of the past, and opening up markets for Taiwan by signing bilateral economic cooperation and investment agreements with mainland China, Japan, Singapore, and New Zealand. There is now a strong movement afoot among countries around the world to sign bilateral trade agreements, so opening up is imperative not just for Taiwan, but for all nations.
President Ma stated that there have recently been breakthrough developments in regional economic integration in Asia. The 12 members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), for example, reached a basic agreement in October 2015, and a final agreement could be signed by February of this year. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), meanwhile, was formally launched on December 31 of last year. Building on previous efforts to liberalize investments as well as trade in goods and services, the AEC represents a further step toward integration into an economic community based on a single market. In addition, following multiple rounds of negotiations, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is expected to be signed within the year.
President Ma stated that regional economic integration is very important to Taiwan's economy, but there are political and economic difficulties involved, so government efforts are all the more necessary. Noting that he still has four more months in office, the president emphasized that: "The word 'caretaker' and the phrase 'slack off' are not in my dictionary. The government will continue full steam ahead, right up until May 19. Of that, you can be sure."
President Ma stated that the old model for rapid economic growth in Asia—reliance on abundant labor and exports—is already gradually becoming a thing of the past. The key to national competitiveness in the next generation, he said, is "capacity for innovation."
The president emphasized that the government is currently stepping up efforts to promote transition to an innovation-driven economic model. Measures are in place to help companies switch from price competition to value competition, and the government is working to achieve an industrial transformation, moving away from an efficiency-oriented model and toward one that is innovation-oriented to enhance national competitiveness. In the manufacturing sector, for example, to respond to the challenges associated with the global trend toward Industry 4.0, the government in October 2015 formally launched Taiwan's Productivity 4.0 program to spur incorporation of intelligent technologies into our industrial value chains. This program focuses primarily on the Internet of Things and Big Data, and seeks development in these areas by tapping into Taiwan's existing strengths in automation and electronics. In addition, the government is also promoting the export of systemically integrated goods and services. The government is promoting integration of goods and services in ten major emerging industries, and technologies related to information and communications technology that have big growth potential—including electronic payments, green transportation, intelligent logistics, and e-government. By 2020, these sectors are expected to generate NT$64 billion in exports.
Commenting on innovation and entrepreneurialism in Taiwan, President Ma stated that in the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) released last November by the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI), Taiwan ranked No. 6 among 132 nations worldwide and No. 1 in Asia. This shows that entrepreneurial activity in Taiwan's private sector is quite strong, he said.
President Ma stated that over the past eight years Taiwan has been hit by three global economic recessions, preventing the government from achieving all of the economic development targets originally adopted eight years ago. Sound economic fundamentals, however, have enabled Taiwan to recover quickly each time. After the financial tsunami of 2008–09, for example, the economic growth rate in 2010 hit 10.63%, the highest in 24 years. And after the European sovereign debt crisis, Taiwan's economic growth rate for 2014 was 3.92%, tops among Asia's four little dragons. Although global exports are now declining, Taiwan will undoubtedly bounce back to post growth again.
President Ma said that in order to continue promoting economic and trade growth, Taiwan needs both internal and external stability. At the same time, it should not consciously steer clear of mainland Chinese markets. That, he said, would be a mistake—possibly even a fatal one.
Regarding his hopes for the future, President Ma mentioned that over the past eight years the government has relied on the 1992 Consensus as the basis for its efforts to maintain cross-strait peace and prosperity, and has pursued a policy of viable diplomacy to act as a peacemaker and a provider of humanitarian aid. This approach has earned the respect of the international community and made ties with the US, mainland China, and Japan the best they've been for decades.
Sufficient cross-strait trust had been built up, said the president, to enable a meeting in Singapore on November 7 of last year between himself and mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平). Adhering to the principles of equality and dignity, the two sides exchanged views on how to consolidate peace in the Taiwan Strait and maintain the cross-strait status quo. The two sides discussed practical issues that the people of Taiwan are concerned about, and the president called on the mainland to respond to those issues with concrete acts showing goodwill. Action has already been taken on various matters raised by the president during his meeting with Mr. Xi, while steps to address others are currently in progress. Examples include: establishment of a hotline between the heads of the respective offices on both sides of the Taiwan Strait responsible for cross-strait affairs; allowing more mainland vocational college graduates to pursue higher education in Taiwan; and allowing mainland passengers to transit in Taiwan on their way to other destinations. In addition, the two sides are currently working to complete negotiations on a Cross-Strait Trade in Goods Agreement.
President Ma stressed that the significance of the Ma-Xi meeting goes beyond the mere symbolic, for it has helped build a bridge of peace between the two sides, and contributed to the maintenance of the peaceful and prosperous cross-strait status quo. As long as future presidents abide by the rules of the road (i.e. reliance on the 1992 Consensus—whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means), they will be able to utilize that bridge at any time. Today's peaceful and prosperous cross-strait status quo has not come easily, so we should all treasure and strive to maintain it, said the president.
President Ma stated that the government has sought for the past eight years to build "a free and prosperous Taiwan," "peaceful cross-strait ties," and "an international environment that is friendly to Taiwan." These conditions are all important to Taiwan's economic development. "Engagement brings prosperity, while isolation leads to atrophy," said the president, adding that Taiwan will have to open up to the entire world. Taiwan has changed for the better, and must not fail to finish what it has started. We cannot wait passively for opportunities to come along, but must actively create our opportunities. That is what it will take to make Taiwan a better place.
The forum was attended by Chairperson Diane Ying (殷允芃) of the CommonWealth Magazine Group as well as business leaders, academics, and experts from Taiwan and around the world.