Taipei, May 8 (CNA) Job creation, wealth distribution and industry upgrade, rather than an endless pursuit of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, should be the focus of Taiwan's future economy policy, scholars said at a symposium Saturday.
The panel of scholars, most of whom served as Cabinet-level officials in the previous administration, warned against over-reliance on China to prop up the Taiwan economy.
"Economic growth should not be the only national goal," said Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) , which organized the symposium on new economic development strategies in the process of globalization.
"The era of government allocating a large part of its resources to the support of corporates in the hope of creating a better environment for the national workforce has long gone, because corporates now relocate overseas in a heartbeat," she said.
While the current administration is seeking closer economic relations with China on grounds that is a preliminary step to economic integration with the rest of the world, most of the working class in Taiwan is suffering as a result of wage stagnation and shrinking job opportunities, Tsai said.
Chen Po-chih, an economist who serves as chairman of the pro-independence Taiwan Thinktank, supported this viewpoint, saying that the government tends to see management as the driving force for high GDP growth and it ignores the needs of the ordinary people.
"It is management that has been reaping the benefits from the process of globalization while the workers are suffering, " Chen said.
Taiwan can no longer gain a competitive edge by means of cheap labor, he added. Increasing unemployment and lower wages are two of the biggest economic issues in Taiwan, said Liu Chin-hsin, a professor at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Liu urged that the government place job creation and the protection of traditional industry -- especially the manufacturing sector -- high on its economic agenda.
Taiwan should develop an innovation-based economy, support industry upgrade and restructuring, and address the issue of wealth distribution so that it can improve its competitiveness and the well-being of its people, he suggested.
The triangular economic relationship among Taiwan, China and Western developed countries is a conflict of personal interests and macro-interests, which puts Taiwan in a no-win situation, said professor Shih Jun-ji, a former chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission.
A prosperous triangular relationship would likely widen the wealth gap in Taiwan and eventually lead to social instability, he added.
Instead of reaching out to the global market by way of China, Shih said, Taiwan should increase its national competitiveness and explore European and American markets on its own. Despite the numerous challenges Taiwan is facing, former minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh said, she is still optimistic about the future because Taiwan's expertise, performance and dedication to innovation is widely recognized.
"The most important thing for us to do now is to formulate an innovation-based policy on industry development," she said.
According to the DPP, the wide-ranging discussions at the symposium will be incorporated into its "10-year policy guidelines" which are scheduled to be announced in August. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc