Foreword from the Publisher

Taiwan 2002

Foreword from the Publisher

Over the past year, the Republic of China experienced major domestic and international political and economic challenges. The world economic downturn, which began in the second half of 2000, continued to adversely affect Taiwan's export industry, particularly the high-tech sector. Nonetheless, significant accomplishments were made in cross-strait and foreign relations, as well as democratization.
The complex relationship with the Chinese mainland was considerably enhanced at the very beginning of the year 2001, when the "Three Small Links" (direct trade, postal, and transportation) between the ROC's offshore islands Kinmen and Matsu and the Chinese mainland coastal cities of Xiamen and Fuzhou in Fujian were formally established on January 1. The expansion of direct social and economic ties will encourage both sides of the Taiwan Strait to seek peaceful and mutually beneficial solutions to their political differences.
Early in the year, the controversy surrounding the cabinet's decision to terminate the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant was settled by the Council of Grand Justices. On February 14, the premier announced the resumption of construction, thus reassuring industrialists, who had expressed concern over the future adequacy of Taiwan's electric power supply.
Two thousand one was a year of numerous accomplishments in foreign affairs. Heads of state, premiers, and other eminent leaders from the ROC's diplomatic partners and other friendly nations visited Taipei for high-level discussions.
President Chen began a 16-day state visit on May 21 to Latin America, with transit stops in Houston and New York. This trip was extremely important in solidifying relations with Latin American nations and upgrading substantive relations with the United States. Premier Chang Chun-hsiung also represented the ROC abroad by visiting four of the ROC's Caribbean allies in September.
Vice President Lu's state visit to The Gambia for the inauguration of President Yahya Jammeh in December was instrumental in strengthening relations with the ROC's African partner. In addition, Vice President Lu sponsored the 2001 Global Peace Assembly attended by five Nobel Peace Prize recipients and representatives from major international NGOs in August.
For their outstanding efforts, President Chen and Vice President Lu were both honored with prestigious international awards in 2001. On November 6, President Chen received the "2001 Prize for Freedom" from the London-based Liberal International, with First Lady Wu Shu-jen accepting the prize in France on his behalf. Then, on December 9, Vice President Lu received the World Peace Prize for her dedication to human rights, democracy, and peace.
In August, President Chen convened the Economic Development Advisory Conference (EDAC), composed of leaders from all sectors of society, to identify methods of promoting sustainable economic development at a time of worldwide recession. The month-long conference yielded 322 items of consensus for reform, including 36 recommendations for developing closer economic ties with the mainland.
After years of negotiations with other World Trade Organization (WTO) members, the ROC finally gained approval for accession on November 11 at the WTO 4th Ministerial Meeting in Doha, Qatar. WTO membership will bring many new challenges to Taiwan's economy, but the expected benefits will outweigh the difficulties in the long term.
Democratic development was uniquely elevated with the December 1, 2001, Legislative Yuan election. For the first time, the DPP became the largest political party in the legislature with 87 of the 225 seats, giving President Chen additional political authority to form a DPP-led cabinet.
These and other major events and trends are all covered in The Republic of China Yearbook--Taiwan 2002. With objective facts and accurate figures, the 2002 edition of the yearbook presents a comprehensive and cohesive overview of the most important aspects of the Republic of China on Taiwan, which readers around the world will certainly find useful and informative.
Throughout the text, an exchange rate of NT$31.23 to US$1 has been used to give meaning to financial statistics for non-Taiwan readers.
In addition, both the CD and online versions of The Republic of China Yearbook--Taiwan 2002 include the original Chinese characters after important names, places, etc. as an aid to those able to read traditional Chinese characters. If the characters do not display properly in your browser, please click here for help.
We invite readers to check the GIO web page at www.gio.gov.tw for the most recent information on the ROC.

Copyright (C) July 2002, Government Information Office. All rights reserved. Site design by L.F. Lee
Best viewed with Netscape 4.x or IE 5.x (medium font) at 800 x 600 True Color (32 bit) resolution

		Foreword from the Publisher
		Over the past year, the Republic of China experienced major domestic and international political and economic challenges. The world economic downturn, which began in the second half of 2000, continued to adversely affect Taiwan's export industry, particularly the high-tech sector. Nonetheless, significant accomplishments were made in cross-strait and foreign relations, as well as democratization. The complex relationship with the Chinese mainland was considerably enhanced at the very beginning of the year 2001, when the "Three Small Links" (direct trade, postal, and transportation) between the ROC's offshore islands Kinmen and Matsu and the Chinese mainland coastal cities of Xiamen and Fuzhou in Fujian were formally established on January 1. The expansion of direct social and economic ties will encourage both sides of the Taiwan Strait to seek peaceful and mutually beneficial solutions to their political differences. Early in the year, the controversy surrounding the cabinet's decision to terminate the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant was settled by the Council of Grand Justices. On February 14, the premier announced the resumption of construction, thus reassuring industrialists, who had expressed concern over the future adequacy of Taiwan's electric power supply. Two thousand one was a year of numerous accomplishments in foreign affairs. Heads of state, premiers, and other eminent leaders from the ROC's diplomatic partners and other friendly nations visited Taipei for high-level discussions. President Chen began a 16-day state visit on May 21 to Latin America, with transit stops in Houston and New York. This trip was extremely important in solidifying relations with Latin American nations and upgrading substantive relations with the United States. Premier Chang Chun-hsiung also represented the ROC abroad by visiting four of the ROC's Caribbean allies in September. Vice President Lu's state visit to The Gambia for the inauguration of President Yahya Jammeh in December was instrumental in strengthening relations with the ROC's African partner. In addition, Vice President Lu sponsored the 2001 Global Peace Assembly attended by five Nobel Peace Prize recipients and representatives from major international NGOs in August. For their outstanding efforts, President Chen and Vice President Lu were both honored with prestigious international awards in 2001. On November 6, President Chen received the "2001 Prize for Freedom" from the London-based Liberal International, with First Lady Wu Shu-jen accepting the prize in France on his behalf. Then, on December 9, Vice President Lu received the World Peace Prize for her dedication to human rights, democracy, and peace. In August, President Chen convened the Economic Development Advisory Conference (EDAC), composed of leaders from all sectors of society, to identify methods of promoting sustainable economic development at a time of worldwide recession. The month-long conference yielded 322 items of consensus for reform, including 36 recommendations for developing closer economic ties with the mainland. After years of negotiations with other World Trade Organization (WTO) members, the ROC finally gained approval for accession on November 11 at the WTO 4th Ministerial Meeting in Doha, Qatar. WTO membership will bring many new challenges to Taiwan's economy, but the expected benefits will outweigh the difficulties in the long term. Democratic development was uniquely elevated with the December 1, 2001, Legislative Yuan election. For the first time, the DPP became the largest political party in the legislature with 87 of the 225 seats, giving President Chen additional political authority to form a DPP-led cabinet. These and other major events and trends are all covered in The Republic of China Yearbook--Taiwan 2002. With objective facts and accurate figures, the 2002 edition of the yearbook presents a comprehensive and cohesive overview of the most important aspects of the Republic of China on Taiwan, which readers around the world will certainly find useful and informative. Throughout the text, an exchange rate of NT$31.23 to US$1 has been used to give meaning to financial statistics for non-Taiwan readers. In addition, both the CD and online versions of The Republic of China Yearbook--Taiwan 2002 include the original Chinese characters after important names, places, etc. as an aid to those able to read traditional Chinese characters. If the characters do not display properly in your browser, please click here for help. We invite readers to check the GIO web page at www.gio.gov.tw for the most recent information on the ROC. Copyright (C) July 2002, Government Information Office. All rights reserved. Site design by L.F. Lee Best viewed with Netscape 4.x or IE 5.x (medium font) at 800 x 600 True Color (32 bit) resolution