Koo hopes Taiwan included in greater China trade zone

Banking and business tycoon Jeffrey Koo (辜濂松) said yesterday that creating a free-trade zone in greater China is a good idea and would be even better if Taiwan was included.

Koo, an ambassador-at-large for Taiwan, welcomed the recent proposal by Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) that a free trade zone should be set up to serve China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Koo, chairman of the Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中國信託銀行), is in Hong Kong attending the 14th Conference of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. He said Taiwan would benefit if it could join a free-trade zone in the region.

He made the remarks after Long Yongtu (龍永圖), China's vice minister of foreign trade and economic cooperation, said on Wednesday that Beijing was considering Tung's proposal.