Senior Presidential Adviser Wu Li-pei (
"I have lived in Taiwan for one year, and I have observed the country and I have found these worries," Wu said in a speech at the Institute for Taiwanese Studies in Los Angeles.
"It is time for Taiwan's government and society to tackle these concerns," he said.
Wu said many Taiwanese are confused by ethnic tensions and issues related to unification and independence.
He said ethnic groups should not be an issue since the real issue is the Taiwanese attitude toward independence or unification.
Wu said no matter what ethnic group one belongs to, people living in Taiwan should have a Taiwanese-identity mindset.
"Everyone should think about national and business-related issues from a `Taiwan perspective,'" Wu said.
"It's a pity, and a worry, that many people living in this country don't think this way," he said.
Wu said that according to his observations, young people in this country are very practical, but they don't care much about issues related to the nation's identity and survival.
He said young Taiwanese should have more passion about their county's future.
Wu said the third concern is that Taiwanese businesspeople don't care about Taiwan's economic security and are always trying to force the government to adopt policies in their favor.
Taiwan relies too much on the Chinese economy, he said
In the past five years too many businesspeople have swarmed to China, and the flight of both business and capital have hurt the country, he said.
Wu, a long-time US resident, has been a long-time supporter of democracy in Taiwan and of Taiwan independence.
In 2002 he founded the Formosa Foundation in Los Angeles, a non-governmental organization that aims to foster better understanding between Taiwan and the US, and advocates a "one China, one Taiwan" policy as a better reflection of the present political reality.
Wu gave up his US citizenship to return to Taiwan to serve as a senior adviser to President Chen Shui-bian (
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