The Taipei City Government yesterday established an Asia-Pacific Economic and Trade Center in Neihu District (內湖) to strengthen economic ties with cities in the region following the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China.
The center, located in the service building of the Neihu Science Park, will integrate resources to offer counseling services for attracting foreign investors and establishing Taipei City as a major regional economic and trade hub.
Speaking at the launch ceremony yesterday, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said he expected the ECFA to bring more Taiwanese businesses back to Taipei and prompt international businesses to set up headquarters in the city.
PHOTO: LIN SHU-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
“The establishment of the center and direct flights between Songshan and Hongqiao airports are the two wings lifting rapid economic development in the city. We expect Taipei to benefit from the ECFA and become a trade hub in the region,” Hau said.
Hau said the ECFA will help boost the development of local industries, creating more than NT$11 billion (US$350 million) in revenue and more than 18,000 jobs for the city.
Taipei City’s Department of Labor Affairs will also set up services at career counseling centers around the city to offer more job training courses and counseling to unemployed residents in the post-ECFA era, he added.
Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) signed the ECFA on Tuesday in Chongqing, China. The Executive Yuan approved the pact yesterday morning, and it now goes to the legislature for deliberation.
The city government announced the creation of the economy and trade center one day after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) established a global economic strategy task force under the National Security Council to steer Taiwan’s global strategy.
The Executive Yuan will form another task force to focus on attracting foreign investors.
Seeking to use the ECFA as an issue to boost his re-election bid, Hau yesterday continued to attack his Democratic Progressive Party counterpart, former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) for his failure to see the positive impact the ECFA would bring to Taipei, and urged him to gain a deeper understanding of the issues related to the ECFA.
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