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Reform will continue, says Chen

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday vowed to continue with reform efforts during the last year of his term, saying that the administration must insist on doing the right thing to win the support of the people.

Likening reform to a bird, Chen said that too tight a grip would kill the bird, but too loose a grip would allow it to fly away.

Under the current political atmosphere where there is no right or wrong but only a political stance, Chen said, businesses were constantly afraid of being labeled and civil servants afraid of being blamed for whatever they did.

"Conservatism is widespread and individuals set too many limitations for themselves," he said. "To find a way out, we must overcome all non-economic factors and insist on doing the right thing. As long as we make some progress, we will win the recognition and support of the people."

Chen made the remarks while delivering a speech to the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce's member meeting in Taipei yesterday morning.

Chen's remarks came after a speech made by American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Stephen Young at the same event. Young, who delivered his speech in Mandarin, called on the government to further open up cross-strait trade to enhance the country's global competitiveness and improve trade relations between Taiwan and the US.

Young said that further relaxation of cross-strait economic restrictions would help Taiwan become a regional transportation, financial and service center, helping US businesses upgrade their status in the Taiwan Strait.

Prosperous

"The closer the cross-strait relations, the more prosperous the economy of Taiwan and the US in the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

While Taiwan has been pushing the US government to sign a free trade agreement (FTA), Young said that they were not considering such a possibility at the moment. They are, however, open to other means that would help advance bilateral economic cooperation, he said.

In addition to continuing with reform, Chen said that the country was duty bound to carry out its responsibilities as a member of the global village.

He, however, pointed out that overtly strict standards not only fail to resolve environmental problems, but also impede economic development. The government must review the suitability of such policies, he said.

To effectively fix the problem, Chen said there must be some incentive programs and the environmental issue must be dealt with as an emerging industry and tackled using novel solutions. Chen urged the government to consider offering rewards to expedite the development of the renewable energy industry.

The government's "Two Trillion, Twin Star" (兩兆雙星) investment plan has made some progress over the years, Chen said, but while the "two trillion" industries -- semiconductors and flat-panel displays -- have achieved their targets ahead of time, there was still room for improvement in the "twin star" industries; digital content and biotechnology.

Chen called on the government to enact a new law regulating development of the bio-pharmaceutical industry and step up the pace in establishing a bio-medicine park in Chupei City (竹北), Hsinchu County, and a national biotechnology park in Taipei City's Nangang District.
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