Chen talks cross-strait trade moves

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that the government is working hard to promote cross-strait trade ahead of Taiwan's entry into the WTO, adding that better trade ties would precede the normalization of links with China.

"By the end of the year, the government will have implemented the `three small links' (小三通), which is the first step," Chen said. "The normalization of cross-strait ties will come from the liberalization of trade ties between China and Taiwan," he added.

Chen, who was speaking at a discussion with local and foreign business executives on investment in Taiwan, said that WTO entry "... will be one of the main axes of Taiwan's future economic development."

"To facilitate WTO entry, the government must adjust the economic system," Chen said. "This will involve implementing market opening measures and promoting Taiwan as a `global planning and management center,'" he added.

The previous Kuomintang government had sought to turn Taiwan into a "regional operations center," an idea Chen has previously said would be hindered by the limitations of cross-strait relations.

Developing the nation as a global planning and management center "... will allow greater speed in the flow of goods, capital and information across Taiwan's borders and allow multinational companies to use Taiwan as a base from which to grasp global business opportunities," Chen said.

The president's tweaking of the catch phrase to emphasize the "global" opportunities that will be presented to foreign investors after Taiwan enters the WTO reflects the increased interaction with the international community that the government expects after some 30 years of exclusion from major global organizations.

Chen remarked that the economic policy revisions required for WTO entry would allow Taiwan to quickly assimilate into the international economic community and establish the foundations to be competitive in the new global order of international trade.

Chen's talk was echoed by Premier Tang Fei (唐飛), who also spoke at the meeting's opening ceremony, saying that under the recently completed "Knowledge-based Economic Development Plan," the government will loosen restrictions on investment and business exchanges with China.

The government will, "... relax investment restrictions on busi-nesses newly established by foreign and domestic investors, examine obstacles faced by investment companies ... and study the feasibility of easing residence restrictions for talented scientists and technologists from China," Tang said.