The government should improve cooperation among agencies working on the “new southbound policy,” World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce (WTCC) president Lin Chien-sung (林見松) said.
Lin led a delegation of 15 WTCC members to meet Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister Wu Hsin-hsing (吳新興) in Taipei on Monday.
The WTCC was founded in 1994 under the guidance of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the council. It has 189 regional chambers and 40,000 affiliated business organizations in 73 nations and autonomous regions. Lin was elected WTCC president in August.
The nation faces numerous challenges, Wu said, adding that he hopes that Taiwanese entrepreneurs overseas unite to support the government’s international policies.
The WTCC should help Taiwanese entrepreneurs enter society in the nations they operate and establish “influential interest groups” by revamping its operational model to provide “more efficient, systematic and institutional services,” Wu said.
The WTCC has been considering how it might help the “new southbound policy” as an institution, Lin said, adding: “Just saying that we support the government is not enough.”
Lin said he is launching a project at the WTCC to establish a human resources platform to help Taiwanese entrepreneurs overseas meet their staff requirements, act as a mediator between government agencies and as a channel for the entrepreneurs to relay their opinions to the government, Lin said.
Lin called on the government to “be mindful of international political realities” while carrying out the policy.
He said many overseas Taiwanese businesspeople told him that they believe in the broader goals of the policy and are willing to cooperate, but that the government must improve cross-agency cooperation to boost effectiveness.
The government also needs to pay closer attention to protecting the business interests and safety of overseas Taiwanese entrepreneurs, Lin said, adding that the government has already made improvements in that area.
Lin said that the government is in the process of negotiating with foreign governments to sign agreements that would insure Taiwanese businesspeople or renew existing agreements, adding that progress can be made in that area in “the foreseeable future.”
In response to reporters’ questions about the effects of cooling cross-strait relations on Taiwanese entrepreneurs, Lin said: “For 22 years, the WTCC has looked to Taiwan and from the perspective of our core values, it is a matter of course that we support the policies of the government.”
Taiwanese entrepreneurs understand the primary directives of the administration, and while the nation’s economic and diplomatic challenges have effects on Taiwanese businesspeople, their allegiance remain with the nation, Lin said, adding that while political influence from Chinese business partners “does exist, it is not a particularly significant.”
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