Premier Sean Chen today highlighted the importance of intersectoral collaboration in building a high-quality industrial environment for Taiwan.
In his closing remarks at the first National Conference on Industrial Development, the premier said the looming U.S. fiscal cliff and the eurozone debt crisis are creating economic development bottlenecks around the world. Taiwan, for its part, has put forward the Economic Power-Up Plan this past September with the aims of improving the industrial environment and accelerating growth momentum.
Focusing on the theme "Transforming Industries into New Engines of Economic Growth," the two-day conference in Taipei discussed topics such as promoting innovative added value and constructing a quality investment environment. Some of the ideas suggested at the conference are already being implemented by the Executive Yuan, Chen pointed out.
For instance, the government is helping to sharpen the competitiveness of Taiwan's 1.28 million small and medium-sized enterprises through the Backbone Enterprises Promotion Project, which offers guidance in developing core technologies and innovation skills, said the premier.
In the area of promoting investments, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will follow the principle mentioned in President Ma Ying-jeou's National Day address, that liberalized policies will become the norm and barriers the exception. The premier noted that the MOEA recently fast-tracked applications by Catcher Technology and Largan Precision—two Taiwanese companies with overseas branches—to invest more than NT$3 billion (US$103 million) back into Taiwan.
"U.S. columnist Thomas Friedman singled out Taiwan as his favorite country other than his own, because what Taiwan lacks in natural resources, it makes up for in human resources and entrepreneurship," said Premier Chen in thanking conference participants for their input and suggestions.
He added that the end of the conference does not mark the conclusion of a mission but the beginning of a cooperative effort for a better future for Taiwan.