When receiving the delegation of the Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC) today, Premier Sean Chen said that the United States had always been Taiwan's strongest partner, and he expected that the delegation's visit would bring constructive progress to a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Premier Chen emphasized that signing FTAs is extremely important for Taiwan since it cannot afford to be isolated from the global economic system. He said Taiwan should work harder for breakthroughs in this area by launching more negotiations with the U.S. and other countries.
"There have been 337 FTAs signed under the structure of the World Trade Organization (WTO), with 210 of them between 2003 and 2012," the premier noted. "Unfortunately, Taiwan was previously unable to sign FTAs because of tense relations with mainland China."
In response to the delegation's queries about trade agreements between Taiwan and mainland China, Premier Chen cited the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) as an important example. He said that in 2004, Taiwan's export volume to the mainland was US$64.8 billion, while the ASEAN countries' totaled US$63 billion. In 2005, however, an FTA between the ASEAN countries and mainland China took effect, and the ASEAN countries' export volume rose to US$75 billion for the year, overtaking Taiwan's US$74.7 billion. "Hence, Taiwan pushed for a similar agreement with mainland China," he explained. "In 2011, the year after ECFA's ratification, Taiwan exceeded the ASEAN countries in exports to the mainland of products on the ECFA early harvest list."
The ASDC delegation members expressed that they were impressed by Taiwan's infrastructure and basic education. Premier Chen said that since Taiwan's natural resources are scarce, it is particularly focused on cultivating human resources, as a high-quality labor force can still support an economy.
Asked how Taiwan would improve its wealth gap, Premier Chen said that judging from the Gini coefficient, Taiwan's income distribution is relatively sound. He said that universal education is the greatest long-term leveler of wealth, and the government's short-term remedy is to increase income transfers and social welfare programs.
The ASDC delegation was led by Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Rickey Cole. The other representatives were Rick Palacio of Colorado, Jeanne Buell of Idaho, Shane Riddle of Louisiana, Sheila Comar of New York, Rhine McLin of Ohio, Ben Nesselhuf of South Dakota, Tarsha Hardy of Texas and Chuck Herz of Wyoming.
ROC officials accompanying the premier to the meeting included Executive Yuan Department of Foreign Affairs, National Defense and Justice Director Chiu Chang-yueh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuo-yu and Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of North American Affairs Bruce Jung-da Linghu.