Foreign community welcomes Chen

Members of the foreign business community last night congratulated Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on his victory in yesterday's election and urged him to continue his fight against corruption.

In addition, foreign trade officials expressed hope that Chen would forge positive dialogue with China and push for Taiwan's membership of the WTO.

"The chamber is glad to see the smooth transition of power in Taiwan," said William Bryson, vice president of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), the largest foreign business organization in Taiwan.

"It demonstrates the maturity of Taiwanese politics."

In a prepared statement, Paul Cassingham, AmCham's president, said his organization believed the transition of power would be a smooth one.

"The economy will remain strong and the society will remain robust and secure," Cassingham said. "With the approach of WTO membership, we think the outlook of increased foreign investment in Taiwan is bright."

While they declined to comment on the election's result, representatives from the European Council of Commerce and Trade (ECCT) indicated earlier that they would work with whoever won yesterday's poll.

"The election is a testimony of Taiwan's democracy," said Theo Stiftl, chief executive officer of ECCT, in an earlier interview with the Taipei Times.

"We have had good access to the government in the past ... and we also hope to continue to present our views to the new administration and continue to solve the remaining problems with our operations here," he added.

In addition, many foreign business officials urged the new government to fulfill its promise to eradicate corruption in Taiwan's markets, financial institutions and politics.

"We hope the new administration will work with us to rule out corruption and gang involvement," Bryson said. "We think corruption slows down the economy and makes [the business climate] unfavorable for foreign and local businesses."

The result, Bryson explained, are higher costs for services and infrastructure. In addition, a country's bad reputation can discourage foreign investment, he said.

Many foreign construction companies, for example, have left Taiwan because of the "money" politics and back-room deals between government officials and businessmen. Sometimes foreign businessmen were threatened because they had bid on local construction contracts, Bryson said.

AmCham officials also hope to see greater rule of law and reduced violent crime.

In addition, they would like to see less red tape for foreign investors and a stock market more open to foreign cash -- issues that are likely to be resolved through Taiwan's membership in the WTO.

In particular, AmCham said it welcomed Chen's stated policy of opening the flow of transportation, commerce and capital between China and Taiwan, saying such a move was in accord with market principles.

Benoit de Soultrait, director of Automobiles Peugeot Taiwan, said that peaceful cross-strait relations were of importance to his group.

De Soultrait is also the vice chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry France Taiwan (CCIFT 法國工商會).

"The development of cross-strait relations is of major concern for us," de Soultrait said. "I hope both Taiwan and China can forge dialogue and succeed in solving problems between them."

Bryson, meanwhile, said he did not see yesterday's election result affecting Taiwan's WTO membership application.