Forging a knowledge-based economy in Taiwan

TT: The global demand for the labor pool is very competitive and different countries are fighting for the same people. How will Taiwan compete?

Chen: If Taiwan wants to attract global expertise, just like the US is trying, Singapore is trying or Hong Kong or China, the country has to have a platform to compete on. Therefore, we have to change the regulations regarding foreign technicians working here. We want to invite more foreign scientists and experts to work in Taiwan. To do so, we will not only have to relax the controls but also try to build adequate residential and shopping areas and offer a quality living environment for foreigners.

TT: Finally, how do you feel after being the current position for almost one year?

Chen: Many criticized us over the past year and some even said I am not good at playing the role in intra-agency coordination. In fact, we have presented many new policies through discussion and negotiation with other government agencies. For example, we made around 200 conclusions during the National Economic Development Conference (全國經濟發展會議) held in last January. All these conclusions were reached after thorough discussion with various agencies, and were not finalized by us alone.

In addition, we also negotiated with the finance ministry on expanding capital market for new ventures and reached a consensus recently to allow insurance companies and securities firms to invest in venture capital.

More importantly, the Executive Yuan's Development Fund (發展基金) has also agreed to earmark NT$20 billion for private investment. So, I don't feel it is fair to criticize us for poor intra-agency coordination.

However, one thing which I really feel bad about is the drastic reduction in work hours. The legislature passed the law ... but they forgot to allow our businesses flexibility in the management of their workers.