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CEPD rebuts AmCham's comments

The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said yesterday that the government has spared no effort to improve cross-strait economic relations, and suggested that recent criticisms by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham) "overshoot the truth."

An opinion piece published in AmCham's latest monthly Taiwan Business Topics said that "Taiwan is backsliding toward becoming a regional backwater," because "a plethora of regulations restricting the movement of people, capital, goods and services to and from China."

The article also noted that instead of leveraging natural advantages such as proximity and language with China, the regulatory environment has handicapped Taiwan's leading companies, while foreign competitors have forged ahead.

"AmCham speaks from the perspective of business interests and has larger scope for imagination and criticism," the council said in a statement. "But the government will still take the criticisms on board as a reference for policymaking."

Gradually lifting bans on goods imported from China, allowing more Chinese citizens to visit Taiwan for business and implementing direct chartered flights are examples of the government's unilateral efforts to promote cross-strait business relations, the council said.

The government is also moving toward loosening the China-bound investment cap of 40 percent of a company's net worth, it said.

The council disagreed entirely with AmCham's statement that "perhaps the most disappointing and depressing aspect of the past six years has been the polarization of politics and absence of consistent, enlightened government."

It said that the government held the Conference on Sustaining Taiwan's Economic Development in July and has mapped out major construction projects, such as the three-year "Big Warmth" plan to stimulate the economy and improve social welfare -- demonstrating the government's determination to boost economic growth with a long-term plan.

Evidence of Taiwan's recovering economy can be seen in the latest GDP growth forecast, which is expected to hit 4.39 percent this year and continue to rise to 4.6 percent next year, according to statistics from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the council said.

The council also said yesterday that it was planning to begin cooperating with local governments to create a better investment climate for service-oriented businesses starting early next year.

Citing government's statistics, the council said revenues generated by the service sector already accounted for 73.8 percent of GDP and that some 5.8 million -- out of a total of more than 10 million workers -- were employed in the sector as of the end of the last quarter.

Additional reporting by CNA
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