President calls on chain-store owners to promote culture

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday encouraged the nation's chain-store owners to make use of their skills to promote Taiwan's culture given that Taiwanese pop culture has gained international recognition.

Chen said the stores are a cultural showcase and the fact that they have enjoyed popularity overseas should give the nation confidence economically.

While meeting with 26 successful store owners, selected from around 20,000 competitors, Chen praised their achievements and encouraged them to work harder to improve the quality of their products and to promote Taiwan's culture with an aim to improve the nation's economy.

The fact that stores selling Taiwan's pearl-milk tea and "bubble" tea can be found in over 30 countries shows that these stores are not only rich in local flavor, but have gradually become internationally competitive, he said.

Chen said that although Tai-wan has not put the recession behind it, he wants to thank these store owners for a job well done.