Addressing the opening of the two-day Conference on Sustaining Taiwan's Economic Development, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said "Taiwan first" and "investing in Taiwan first" should be the basic mindset in the formulating of economic and trade policy relating to China.
Previously promoting "active management, effective opening" (
The original title of the president's speech provided by the Presidential Office read "Taiwan first, active management."
The president's impromptu change of wording in his speech became the focus of much commentary yesterday, as local businesspeople wondered to what degree the government will carry out the president's guidelines.
Chen said that cross-strait trade would not be the only concern for the government to make its policies.
He said that it was just one part of international trade policies, which will be the government's biggest concern.
"We must put [cross-strait trade] under the entire framework of international trade and again reaffirm Taiwan's national development," Chen said.
"We should plan cross-strait trade policy from a basis -- and in consideration -- of `Taiwan first,'" he added.
The conference started yesterday amid protests outside the venue by a number of labor groups, who complained that the government's policy to import foreign laborers deprived them of their right to be employed. Taiwan's unemployment rate was 3.98 last month according to official figures, the lowest in years.
Scuffles broke out between the protesters and the police. No serious injuries were reported.
In response to the protests, Council of Labor Affairs Chairman Lee Ying-yuan (
"Actually, the jobless rate has dropped from 5.17 percent to about 4 percent. Approximately 110,000 job opportunities were created last month," Lee said.
"Also, our future policies are to make sure that our domestic laborers' legal rights are well-protected," Lee added.
In his speech to the conference, Premier Su Tseng-chang (
"Everyone of us who is attending the conference here today should abandon our selfish points of view, make a contribution, brainstorm and come up with the most effective solutions for the country," Su said.
"The government shall take advantage of the agreements of the conference and make appropriate policies with all due haste," he said.
Su said that he had first proposed the conference on March 8 because he wanted to collect ideas from the public and turn them into policies for the Cabinet to implement.
As a result, whatever agreements the conference reaches will reflect the voice of the majority, which will be valuable to the government, he said.
Topics discussed yesterday included social security, industrial competitiveness and the financial system.
Sessions on global and cross-strait economic issues, and administrative efficiency will be the subject of discussion today.
Some 100 academics, government and party officials, business groups and trade unions took part in the event yesterday.
Meanwhile, a group of Taiwan Solidarity Union legislators threatened to "declare war on the Cabinet" if it relaxed the cap on China-bound investments.
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