Vice Premier Lin Hsi-yao received representatives from international fair trade organizations today for discussions about Taiwan's efforts to promote sustainable development and fair trade, and said that public and private cooperation has already produced results in Taiwan.
The vice premier said he was pleased to meet with Dario Soto Abril and Molly Harriss Olson, chief executive officers of Fairtrade International and Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand, respectively, as their visit means the international community has taken notice of Taiwan's achievements in fair trade.
Taiwan is very receptive to progressive ideas and values, and puts them into action, Lin said. Fair trade, a social movement for ethical trade practices and sustainable farming, is a relatively new concept that must be first promoted so that people can understand and accept it before acting on it. He is confident that fair trade will eventually become the mainstream.
Taiwan established a global change policy guidance task force under the Executive Yuan in 1994 and upgraded it to the National Council for Sustainable Development in August 1997, Vice Premier Lin said. Starting May 2002, the council's chairperson position was filled by the premier to meet the United Nation's sustainable development guidelines. At recent sustainable development conferences, the government has begun proposing action plans and making fair trade an important Executive Yuan policy.
Efforts to promote fair trade in Taiwan have been largely driven by the private sector, the vice premier said. He also thanked Legislator Karen Yu for spearheading cooperation between the government and private corporations through the Fairtrade Taiwan platform.
The government will come up with more effective and aggressive strategies to promote this concept in the public sector by guiding trade companies or businesses to use fair trade products. The current administration also adjusted government procurement policies to choose the most advantageous tenders instead of the lowest cost tenders. By focusing on the quality and value of procurements, the government can help promote and support fair trade principles.
The government will also incorporate fair trade concepts into the "people-oriented" New Southbound Policy. Encouraging fair trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and countries in South Asia will yield even more mutually beneficial exchanges, the vice premier said.