Siew Meets ECCT Delegates, Stresses Industrial Innovation

Siew Meets ECCT Delegates, Stresses Industrial Innovation

August 24, 2007

KMT Vice Presidential candidate Vincent Siew received delegates from the European Council of Commerce and Trade (ECCT) recently. During the meeting, Siew said, ”If the KMT wins power in 2008, its economic polices will emphasize expanding domestic demand, industrial innovation and strengthening links to international markets.” Regarding private investment by Taiwanese businesses in Mainland China, Siew said the KMT’s polices would attach importance to stringent management of key technology transfer, rather than limiting capital to be used for investment in Mainland China.

Siew lamented the state of Taiwan’s economy: “Over the past seven years, Taiwan has been facing economic restructuring. However, because the government has been unable to adopt the right policies and find proper solutions, Taiwan’s economy has been in the doldrums. For example, businesses have become difficult to run; local development is in decline; and private investment and public construction are insufficient.” However, Siew was hopeful: “In order to bring back prosperity to local areas, the KMT will promote polices that expand domestic demand. Through life-oriented re-engineering project, investment opportunities will be created, and new dynamism added to local development,” he said.

Siew then talked about urban and rural development: “There is an obvious gap in development between the cities and the countryside. Currently, there are no plans for the reconstruction of farming and fishering villages. Most of the cities are dilapidated. This kind of situation does not match up with the real level of income of Taiwanese people.”

On KMT plans to reinvigorate local areas, Siew said, “If the KMT wins power in 2008, a KMT government will set up a special budget to provide local governments with financial support for public construction. Having said that, I also hope that local governments can do their best to attract foreign investment in order to promote economic development.”

During the meeting, one delegate from ECCT asked if foreign countries would be welcome to participate in public construction projects run by local governments. Siew answered, “This involves government procurement. Taiwan gave a clear commitment on this issue when it entered the WTO. Local governments will observe this commitment.”

Siew said that the government would encourage development of the value-added services industry, and that the industry policy should be changed to provide incentives for innovation and industry values, not investment or production scales. "Therefore, there will be a great deal of changes to the Industry Promotion and Upgrade Act when it expires," he added.

He went on to say that the government would expand international connections with a more open, transparent policy that would not only accommodate investment from foreign and overseas-Taiwanese business people, but also provide much-needed help for them.

Noting that Singapore and Hong Kong are already globalized in terms of their air transhipment centers, the ECCT delegates asked how Taiwan would deal with the issue of international transportation in the future. Siew admitted that Taiwan’s air traffic facilities were in no comparison with those of Singapore and Hong Kong, and since Taiwan’s existing airports had some room for expansion, the government would be able to transform Taiwan into an air transhipment center by expanding some airports at the right time.

On cross-Strait economic relations, Siew said that the government would push forward direct cross-Strait air and sea links to open the island up to Mainland Chinese tourists, and the plan was to accommodate 3,000 tourists per day at first, and to increase the number to 6,000 the following year. “We will review Mainland imports by WTO regulations; however, we will impose strict controls on agricultural products so as to protect the livelihoods and rights of our own farmers,” said Siew. Regarding investment by Taiwan on Mainland China, the government will focus on management of crucial technology transfer, not focus on capital limitation.

The ECCT delegation said that Taiwan’s tourism industry still lagged behind some Southeast Asian countries, and the main reason was Taiwan’s tourist facilities had some way to go before reaching promised standards. Nevertheless, Siew thought that Taiwan had world-class landscapes, an outstanding cultural heritage, and its transportation network was well-developed. If the government had a proper plan, the tourism industry would have a proper future.

Besides tourism, the delegation raised the issue of visas for mainland business people. It is very inconvenient for entrepreneurs from the Chinese mainland, who have to wait for more than one month to get their visas, they said. Acknowledging the problem, Siew admitted, “A month of waiting is far too long for mainland entrepreneurs,” but promised to “review and improve the process of handling visa applications from Mainland Chinese.”

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