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AmCham urges action on economy

The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham) yesterday said that while it remained pessimistic on the prospects for Taiwan's economy, proposals made by the Economic Development Advisory Conference were encouraging as long as they are effectively implemented.

Richard Henson, president of AmCham, said yesterday the 322 proposals that achieved consensus at the conference were positive but before foreign investor sentiment would change on Taiwan the government would have to act on them.

This was the general message Henson and a small delegation from AmCham has impressed upon the legislative caucus leaders and Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jing-pyng (王金平) during meetings over the last two days.

"Ten years ago Taiwan put forth the six-year national development plan, five years ago it was APROC -- Asia Pacific Regional Operations Center -- now it's the EDAC proposals ... It's a broken record," Henson said.

"So some of this is rolling our eyes [and] some of it is `yes you're saying the right things but now take the next step and take action,'" he said.

After meeting with Henson on Monday, Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), DPP whip said that AmCham had changed its chilly outlook on the economy due to the conference proposals and that members would increase their investment in Taiwan in anticipation of implementation of the new economic policies.

Henson denied making any such statements saying that he had only been encouraged after the meetings.

"We are very happy that they understand the importance of passing the WTO and EDAC legislation," said Henson.

"They have all told us that they know that these pieces of legislation are critical for the Taiwan economy and are a critical message to the foreign investment community that Taiwan is still a stable, forward-looking economy," he added.

In a phone interview with the Taipei Times, Tsai's remarks more closely resembled the opinions of AmCham, saying that the Legislative Yuan would most certainly cooperate to pass the EDAC and WTO-related legislation.

"In regards to EDAC proposals and WTO-related legislation there is consensus among all lawmkers," said Tsai. "Passing this legislation won't be a problem in the next session," he said.

However, he maintained that the AmCham members had "expressed their confidence the outcome of the conference would improve Taiwan's investment environment."

Henson said that at an AmCham board meeting yesterday almost all those in attendance remained pessimistic on Taiwan's economy.

In its annual business confidence survey of foreign firms in Taiwan, AmCham in February found that ratings for the performance of overall business environment and future improvement had declined.
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