The three-day National Conference on Economic and Trade Affairs got underway today as representatives from across the nation gathered in Taipei City to explore strategies and plans for Taiwan's economic and trade development.
Consensus items from the conference will be implemented by the government with the utmost sincerity and determination, Premier Jiang Yi-huah pledged. As for items on which participants reach majority agreement or other opinions, any idea will certainly be incorporated into the government's administrative guidelines so long as it benefits national development. Jiang encouraged all attendees to express themselves freely and openly and to work together for the good of the economy.
The main reason for holding the conference is that many citizens have been engaging in an intense debate on where Taiwan's economy should be heading and how to bring it there, Jiang explained. Some see globalization as an inevitable, irreversible and inescapable trend that Taiwan cannot afford to miss out on. Others say globalization will widen the gap between Taiwan's rich and poor, or that the free flow of human resources will be hurtful to the nation.
The premier said that these are serious concerns that must be addressed. In the course of economic development, every step Taiwan has taken was difficult and came at a price. Each move ahead has its pros and cons, and it takes wisdom to make the right choices and mitigate any impacts on the country. As such, the government has invited top minds from all sectors of society for a full-on discussion of these issues.
Participants at the national conference include top government officials, business representatives, labor and social groups, academic institutes as well as many young people. The range of representation is unprecedented for an ROC economic conference. Regrettably, the main opposition party has declined to attend, but the government will continue endeavoring to forge common ground among citizens, Premier Jiang emphasized.
Former Vice Premier Lin Hsin-i, the co-chair of and a consultant for the conference, noted four consultant meetings have been held since the end of May to prepare for the event. "Every consultant's recommendation has been adopted by the Executive Yuan, making the conference more wide-ranging, open and transparent and proving that the administrative team is efficient, sincere and receptive to every sector's opinions," Lin said. On behalf of the consultant board, Lin expressed thanks to the administrative team for its immediate and positive responses.
"This conference is a valuable and excellent platform for communication, and everyone is very much looking forward to it," Lin added. "I hope that the government will put the resolutions into practice to demonstrate its commitment and effectiveness in creating a new vision for economic and trade policy."
Premier Jiang pointed out that the regional and national conferences have been held not only in physical locations but also on the Internet through live webcasts and interactive discussions, as the consultant board had suggested. The conferences have been entirely open to the public, and there are no "black box" maneuvers involved, he emphasized.
Moreover, the Executive Yuan organized a debate competition and a "World Cafe" gathering for young people last week to give online observers opportunities to meet and talk about topics that were not discussed in sufficient depth on the Internet.
A "live feed and discussion wall" has also been established for the national conference (http://www.ndc.gov.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0060472). Via this page, netizens can give immediate feedback throughout the event and discuss the content of speeches with other viewers; furthermore, conference delegates can not only listen to the speakers but also see the opinions of Web users, the premier pointed out.
"This is a new creation, and we hope it will make this conference more open and transparent while giving all sectors of society more opportunities to participate," he said.
Jiang then shared the following statement by a netizen who helped to establish the wall: "When the presenters at the podium are speaking, our (netizens') opinions will not be merely consigned to the other side of a screen but will be visible to those at the conference site. We hope that the voices of the online community can have a better chance to be heard. This is a very good thing." Such views reveal the entire country's concern for the future of Taiwan's economy and trade, the premier said.
The conference is being held July 26-28. Today's agenda included a speech from Former Vice President Vincent Siew titled "Working hand in hand to move Taiwan forward."