Government must appropriate a sufficient budget to assist businesses to expand into the international arena wherever economic wealth and quality of life can be optimized. The private sectors are in good shape, as always. The key factor is now the government.

I have to keep pounding on the absolute need and the urgency for the Taiwan government to stop its business as usual attitude and live up to its responsibility. I mentioned earlier Taiwan's global competitiveness has declined, specifically from No. 16^th to 18^th according to the 1999 IMD report. Taiwan as a very small island nation is exceedingly dependent upon international commerce for survival. Thus the key to its success has to lie in its relative competitiveness in the world market, which, in turn, is decided by its government's abilities to manage problems and crises as well as its formulation of wise policies, plans, and practices to steer the economy to the right direction and goals. The IMD report specifically identified the following areas as having poor performance-illegal insider transactions, domestic consumption, science and technology, and business management. If Singapore could continue to rank as high as No. 2, it behooves us to reflect why Taiwan, with the miracle and all, was so far behind?

     A new world economic order has emerged whereby rapid changes are the rules rather than the exceptions, and that will dictate that only those that can anticipate and swiftly adapt will survive. Taiwan needs a government that can detect and forecast its emerging trends and problems, open up its market fully for competitive efficiency, ensure transparency in all government and business activities, and promulgate economic and industrial policies and action plans to deploy and optimize its national resources around the globe.

     And to ensure a good partner in the government, one that doesn't have to carry the heavy burden of the past imposed by the Big Business and special interest groups, the Taiwanese people need to clear their last hurdle in their long road to full democracy by allowing the now-matured opposition party to take over the government. A new government with a clean slate and a resolve to genuinely serve the people will lead them to another even more spectacular miracle, except that this time it won't be just in economic terms!