Taipei, Nov. 8 (CNA) Ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh elaborated on his "well-being economy" policy vision and reiterated his "mutualism" philosophy to U.S. business people Thursday while emphasizing that he will try to rebuild trust between Taiwan and the U.S. once elected.
In his speech, titled "The Well-being Economy: the strategies for Taiwan's economic development", to business people of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Taipei, Hsieh also said he will deliver on his promises to the U.S. after being elected and called for a regular high-level meeting between the two sides on the Taiwan-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The presidential hopeful outlined his thoughts on the "well-being economy" in seven points and vowed to replace the current political polarization with an approach stressing mutualism and to form a coalition government for the sake of Taiwan's economic and democratic development.
Hsieh pledged to implement his cross-strait policy with more "openness" under the prerequisite that Taiwan's sovereignty and identity not be jeopardized. Hsieh said he supported direct chartered flights, relaxing Taiwan's investment ceiling in China, and opening Taiwan's capital market to Chinese investment.
Noting the differences between his cross-strait policies and those of campaign rival Ma Ying-jeou, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) , Hsieh said he supports the dynamic "case-by-case" management of Taiwan's investment in China while Ma proposes an across-the-board easing of restrictions.
Management of Taiwan's investment in China is a must because "China is still considered a country hostile to Taiwan, " he said. While the 40 percent investment ceiling is debatable, hi-tech national defense elements, agriculture, and other important sectors will have to be managed carefully or social justice and the welfare of the people of Taiwan will suffer, he said.
The DPP candidate stressed that revitalizing the manufacturing sector would be one of his most important economic policies. He pointed out that the sector created job opportunities although it contributed only 23 percent to Taiwan's gross domestic production (GDP) in 2006.
"I always think that creating jobs is the best thing a government can do for workers, " he said.
Hsieh said his economic policies are based on a "Golden Triangle" of sustainable development, economic prosperity and social justice. The economy is "something but not everything, " he said, adding that Taiwan's national identity and security are also extremely important.
"Here I will draw a red line... Taiwan becoming a local government of the PRC (People's Republic of China) is our red line, " he said.
Hsieh also pledged to develop key industries such as WiMAX, biotech and biomedicine, create a competitive tax environment, strengthen the capital market, promote tourism, and stimulate domestic demand through investing in further public infrastructure projects.