Su swears he'll act on forum's consensus

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday assured the public that the government would implement any consensus reached in the Economic Sustainable Develop-ment Conference scheduled for July 27 and July 28.

"The results that emerge from the conference will be the result of collective brainstorming. As a premier I assure you that my Cabinet will do their duty and uphold whatever consensus is reached," Su said during his opening speech at yesterday's preparatory meeting.

Su said the growth of China's economy was the most serious challenge facing Taiwan because it had created many employment and business opportunities.

"[The Chinese economy] is like a huge magnet that lures our businessmen to invest their money in China. However, it also endangers Taiwan's economy because most of our investments are there and the independence of our economy may be affected," the premier said.

Su said that the success of next month's conference would be determined by the results achieved in the preparatory meeting, which will be divided into five panels.

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and former premier Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), who now serves as chairman of the Chung Hua Institution for Economic Research, also took part in yesterday's event.

"Taiwan was once one of the leaders of the global economy. However, I must say, we are stuck in a bottleneck at the moment and we need to work something out," Siew said.

Wang said he would use his influence in the pan-blue camp to help approve whatever agreements were reached during the conference.

"The interests of the country come first, not those of individuals or political parties," Wang said.

Su, Wang and Siew will serve as co-conveners of the economic sustainable development conference.

Following yesterday's preparatory meeting, there will be six weeks of panel meetings before the conference begins.

Each panel will focus on five topics, including social security, administrative competition, financial business, global and cross-strait development and government efficiency.

A 12-member advisory group has also been formed to offer counseling on the agenda and policy options to be addressed during the conference.

Additional reporting by CNA