The right action at the key moment

MANILA, Philippines - October 10, 2009 is the 98th birthday of the Republic of China, and the 60th anniversary of its new phase on Taiwan. While the disaster resulting from Typhoon Morakot is dampening the celebratory spirit on our national day this year, Taiwan has weathered many challenges over the past six decades to become the world’s 17th-largest economic entity and a beacon of democracy for Asia. This newest ordeal at the grassroots level, along with ongoing geopolitical and economic challenges, only motivates us to further prove our mettle.

Taiwan’s most recent grassroots travail and triumph over adversity are most in our heart on this National Day. This past August, Typhoon Morakot caused heavy loss of life, damage to property and devastation of the infrastructure for the people of Taiwan. In its aftermath, the public and private sectors pooled resources and collaborated to provide rescue and relief, with 85 countries and international organizations, including the United States, European Union, Japan and the Chinese mainland offering assistance and expressing their condolences. Throughout the rescue process, our government and people keenly felt the concern of the international community and learned the true meaning of respecting nature and valuing life.

Our country has currently launched a reconstruction initiative. Besides passing the Special Act Governing Reconstruction after Typhoon Morakot, which authorizes the expenditure of more than US$3 billion over three years, we will accelerate rebuilding in the disaster area by adhering to the principles of speed, leniency and simplicity. On behalf of the ROC government, I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the international community for its support and assistance in our hour of need.

Natural disaster is not the only challenge facing our country that requires an appropriate and timely government response. Years of cross-strait contention due to historical differences have denied Taiwan its due presence in the international community. However, President Ma Ying-jeou has actively implemented a policy of “flexible diplomacy” since taking office in May of last year. With the rapprochement between Taipei and Beijing that has occurred since he became President, the Republic of China’s warm and friendly formal relations with its diplomatic partners and its substantive ties with other countries have been further consolidated. In May of this year, Taiwan became an observer at the World Health Assembly of the United Nations in the biggest diplomatic breakthrough for our country in more than 30 years.

This was also the first year that the ROC government took a different approach to its policy since 1993 of actively seeking participation in the UN. In the past, our diplomatic partners were asked to propose inclusion of consideration of Taiwan’s case on the agenda of the UN General Assembly. This year, we called on every country to support Taiwan’s participation in two specialized UN organizations closely bound up with the interests of the people of Taiwan — the International Civil Aviation Organization and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — in hopes that a more pragmatic and flexible approach will bring Taiwan into more international organizations where it belongs to secure the interests of the people of Taiwan.

In developing relations with mainland China, our government has maintained the stance of “putting Taiwan first for the benefit of the people” and has taken a pragmatic approach of “pursuing common ground, shelving differences and jointly creating a win-win solution” to expand cross-strait exchanges. To date, Taipei and Beijing have held three rounds of institutionalized negotiations and have signed nine agreements, resulting in a dramatic improvement in bilateral relations and gradually building mutual confidence.

The ROC government has already completed a number of cross-strait liberalization measures, including allowing visits to Taiwan by tourists from the Chinese mainland, opening direct air and sea transport links, engaging in joint crime prevention, dramatically relaxing caps on Taiwanese investment in the mainland, allowing direct exchange of the Chinese Yuan in Taiwan, liberalizing investment from each side of the Taiwan Strait in securities on the opposite shore, allowing qualified domestic institutional investors from the mainland to invest in Taiwan’s stock market and permitting mainland investment in Taiwan businesses and real estate. Taipei and Beijing will also sign a memorandum of understanding on cross-strait financial supervision and cooperation and an economic cooperation framework agreement to normalize cross-strait exchanges and economic ties and create a win-win situation for both sides.

The ROC’s economic security has a wider global dimension that also calls for proper and opportune government initiatives. With Taiwan facing an economic downturn and flagging exports due to the global financial crisis, the government has implemented a series of programs to boost the economy in three ways: enhancing cross-strait economic and trade ties, stimulating exports, and expanding domestic demand. It has also been actively promoting the remaking of industries and increasing local industries’ global connections. Taiwan’s international competitiveness rating leapt to 12th place in the World Economic Forum’s “Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010” and rose 15 spots to rank 46th globally in the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2010” report. These are Taiwan’s best rankings in recent years, indicating that our countermeasures to deal with the global financial crisis are working as intended.

Taiwan’s stock market has revived, and its high-tech industries, which are key to the economy, have also resumed production at full capacity. According to estimates in the International Monetary Fund’s “World Economic Outlook” report published on October 1, 2009, Taiwan’s gross domestic product for next year will grow by 3.7 percent, the second-highest rate among the four “Asian Tiger” economies. We are confident that once the global economy begins to recover, Taiwan will regain economic prosperity. In order to promote industrial upgrading, in the future Taiwan will concentrate on the development of six flagship industries: green energy, biotechnology, tourism, medical and health care, up-scale agriculture and cultural creation. We will capitalize on our geological advantages and transform Taiwan into a regional center for trade, investment and innovation.

Over the past 60 years, the Republic of China (Taiwan) has already become an internationally acclaimed paragon of democratic development. Faced with future challenges, Taiwan will carry on with its “flexible diplomacy,” cross-strait reconciliation and economic revitalization policies. We believe that taking the right action at the key moment for each of these challenges will allow Taiwan to safely overcome the global financial crisis, play a major role in the international community and contribute concretely to world peace and stability. While natural adversity tempers this year’s celebration of the birth of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s determination and resilience in the face of all challenges still gives us so much to be proud of on this very special day.