Before a crowd of insistent reporters that had forced him to hold an impromptu press conference outside of his office, Wang Yung-ching (
Wang's trip to China last week, which coincided with the release of a "white paper" that promised a military attack if Taiwan rebuffs China's unification overtures, had raised eyebrows among loyalists at home.
In addition, as one of Taiwan's leading industrialists, Wang's support would be a plus for any of the three leading candidates in the hotly contested presidential election.
In response to questions about a meeting between Wang and KMT senior adviser Hsu Li-teh (
"I have never said who I am supportive of," Wang said. "Don't you [reporters] use tricks to get me."
But Hsu put a different spin on the story, saying that Wang has been a long time supporter of Lien Chan (
"If you say that I don't care about the presidential election, that would be a lie," Hsu said. But he did say that the meeting was intended to be a political gesture, though "I didn't talk about presidential election with Mr Wang."
When pressed about whether Wang would support Lien, Hsu responded: "It wouldn't be the first time that Mr Wang is supportive of Mr Lien, why do you [reporters] keep asking this question?"
Wang, however, said he hasn't announced who he supports, and that Hsu -- a longtime friend -- has known for years that Wang never likes to talk about politics.
"He came here to ask my opinion on vice president Lien Chan's industrial policies," Wang said. "My mind and heart are only for industrial development."
Wang said that Taiwan should focus on developing basic industries. For example, he said, Formosa Plastics plans to get into the automobile industry, and may set up an auto parts factory down the road.
On the matter of his recent trip to China, Wang tossed aside earlier press reports that he had met with President Jiang Ze-min (
He said his itinerary included stops at his US$3 billion power plant in Zhangzhou (漳州), Shanghai and the Sichuan province.
Wang left Taiwan on Feb. 20, a day before China issued its "white paper." Wang said the focus of his trip was to find possible partners in developing herbal medicine, and to prepare for the group's future expansion into the biotechnology industry.
"Taiwan's Chinese medicine industry is in need of talented doctors and quality medicine," Wang said.
For example, he noted, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital's (長庚醫院) Western clinic is the nation's biggest, with more than 30,000 visits per day. But the Chinese medicine sector, on the otherhand, still has a long way to go.
Still, Wang said he had no concrete plans for future investment in China.
In 1996, Formosa Plastics was forced to abort a multi-billion dollar plan for a petrochemical complex in Fujian after President Lee Teng-hui (
Lin Yi-fu (
According to a report released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (
That's despite rules that ban businessmen from investing more than US$50 million in a single project, in addition to requiring a case-by-case approval for investments in high-technology industries.
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