Minister of Overseas Chinese Affairs Chang Fu-mei (張富美) concluded a four-day visit to the Philippines yesterday, during which she called on overseas Chinese and Taiwan businesspeople there to serve as the country's grassroots ambassadors.
At the invitation of the Taiwan Businesspeople's Association in the Philippines, Chang flew to Manila on Wednesday to officiate at the inauguration of a Taiwan products exposition organized by the association at the World Trade Center in Manila.
She also visited overseas Chinese communities and held talks with Taiwan businesspeople, explaining the government's "Go South" investment policy.
There are many risks involved in investing in China, as a financial crisis "might erupt at any time" there, because of large numbers of overdue loans and non-performing loans in financial institutions, Chang claimed.
It is one of the reasons why the Taiwan government started the "Go South" policy to remind businesspeople to be wary, despite the many opportunities in the mainland, she added.
The policy is in line with President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) slogan of "global deployment with roots in Taiwan," Chang said.
Chang also urged businesspeople to help promote cross-strait peace and to help Taiwan join international organizations such as WHO and the UN.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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