To ensure the success of the 2008 Taiwan Fair which aims to showcase the nation's achievements in technology and culture, President Chen Shui-bian (
"The 2008 Taiwan Fair will be an international fair held on a national level," Chen said after hearing the report by Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) Chairman Hu Sheng-cheng (胡勝正) on preparations for the fair during the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) central standing committee meeting yesterday.
"Many of the world's developed countries hold all kinds of fairs with different themes in order to exchange information with other countries," Chen said. "This fair will be an important milestone in achieving the development of the service and technology sectors in Taiwan."
According the report, the fair will be promoted as "the forefront of technology, the new vista of civilization" and tie in the Executive Yuan's tourism and tech-driven development plans for the country.
"We estimate that the 2008 Taiwan Fair will draw about 500,000 international tourists, draw at least NT$5 billion and 13,000 job opportunities," Hu said.
More than 5,500 professionals are expected to attend the fair which will raise the tourist industry's profits to NT$55 billion, Hu added.
Drawing on Japan's experience in holding exhibitions, the government will need to spend substantial amounts of money to prepare for the large-scale international exhibition while the country enters the construction phase of the project. The undertaking requires the cooperation of every relevant government organization, Chen said.
"We have to grasp this chance to display to the world Taiwan's achievements in technology and cultural creativity in order to make it a success," Chen said.
Chen asked the Cabinet to establish a special statute for the 2008 Taiwan Fair as a law for simplifying complicated administrative procedures.
Chen also ordered the CEPD to evaluate whether the date of the international event can be advanced in January 2008.
The 2008 Taiwan Fair is one of the features of the government's 10 New Major Construction Projects proposed by the Executive Yuan.
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