President Jin-Pyng Wang of the Legislative Yuan, members of the Legislative Yuan, ladies, and gentlemen,This is my third visit to the Republic of China. I had the opportunity to meet the members of the Legislative Yuan nine years ago and I am honored to visit the Legislative Yuan again as the President of the Republic of Costa Rica.
I have always been grateful for your support as a friend, partner, and brother to friendly states of Central America and we understand your spirit of camaraderie as well as your commitment to the development of the states of Central America.
For this purpose, I wish to extend the most heartfelt gratitude on behalf of the government and people of the Republic of Costa Rica for your support in finance, technologies, and infrastructure. Your support represents the decades of friendship between the Republic of China and Costa Rica which has helped Costa Rica on its path to cultural development and economic growth.
For instance, our country received support from your country for vocational education last year and it has helped the computer science, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering institutions in many vocational schools in Costa Rica set up new laboratories and provided them with support.
The recent restoration of the tourism pier in the "Puntarenas Reconstruction Project", the expansion of the Port of Moin in Limón Province, and the recent signature of the agreement for the construction of the Tempisque Bridge have helped promote Costa Rica's major plans for the development of tourism, manufacturing, and service industries along the coast of the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea. The important partnership provided by your country will help bring more tourists, foreign-currency income, and prosperity to areas with high concentrations of ethnic chinese in Costa Rica.
In addition, I also hope to start the San Carlos road construction project in northern Costa Rica soon.
I wish to use the opportunity to express my gratitude to the government, people, and private enterprises and organizations for their timely and generous humanitarian aid for countries in Central America that had been ravaged by Hurricane Mitch. Your country's rescue operations were swift and executed to perfection. They also consolidated the existing brotherly bond between the Republic of China and Costa Rica.
The Republic of Costa Rica reiterates that it will support all efforts made by the Republic of China in international engagements.
Costa Rica regards the Republic of China as the best role model for state development. The Republic of China has successfully transitioned from a developing country to a developed and prosperous country. The direct central and local elections held by the Republic of China are testaments that democratic ideas have reached all aspects of the society. My visit to the Legislative Yuan and the opportunity for meeting and discussions with recently elected representatives of different political parties is the best proof of the successful development of democratic institutions. As President Teng-Hui Lee said, "democracy is not merely a political system but a way of life."
At this new turning point in history, the Republic of China and Costa Rica have reached a consensus on regional economic integration and open and free market policies. The two countries need to adapt to brand-new environments with more creativity and well-thought-out policies. To ensure the benefits of the people in a democratic, peaceful, and free environment, both countries understand the importance of the economic ideal of supporting the poor and helping the weak.
Many believe that democracy, freedom, and peace to be indispensable for the development and growth of nations. Costa Rica is the best example of this belief.
Costa Rica, with a 51 thousand square kilometers of land, is minuscule. The country does not produce oil and does not have substantial mineral resources. Nevertheless, our cultural development ranks second only to Chile in Latin America. Costa Rica also has the longest history of democratic development in the area. According to the United Nations, Costa Rica now ranks among the top countries in the Human Development Index.
The people of Costa Rica understand that our goal for economic development is to build a national economy based on high-tech and knowledge-intensive industries. We must strengthen the competitiveness of the industries of Costa Rica by improving overall technologies. We must create more high-paying jobs to improve the per-capita income of the people of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica has two fundamental advantages that attract foreign investments of up to 5% of its gross national product. The first is the stable economic, political, and social security created by 150 years of steadfast democratic institutions. The second is the talent pool created by substantial government investments in education and health throughout the years.
One of the primary policies of my administration is therefore the use of on-the-job training for continuous labor improvements and more comprehensive education for new workers of the 21st century. For this purpose, the government has allocated 6.5% of the GNP to fund education development this year, the highest proportion of government spending on education in recent years. In addition, the national vocational education system established last year with the support of your country will continue to improve technical and vocational education in Costa Rica.
To enhance business opportunities and lower production costs, our government has made significant investments in infrastructure such as the construction of ports, airports, and roads. We have also adopted BOT construction plans to increase the investment opportunities for foreign companies and promote the development of our country.
To improve service quality, enhance efficiency, lower costs, and increase the competitiveness of the country, Costa Rica has also taken measures to end the monopolies of the insurance and telecommunications industries. We also encourage private enterprises to take part in energy development plans. Total investments in registered power development plans have exceeded US$300 million.
Costa Rica continues to pursue good development conditions. For this purpose, it is necessary to actively engage nearby countries and sign free trade agreements. We are now conducting similar negotiations with Chile, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago.
In addition, my administration has reduced tariffs with the aim of improving national competitiveness, providing benefits to consumers, and making industries more competitive. We have also implemented a series of measures to simplify tariff systems and policies to increase efficiency.
To promote the open policy and economic and trade integration, Costa Rica entered multiple rounds of negotiations with the United States to obtain the preferential treatment granted to Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for countries in the "Caribbean Basin Initiative" (CBI).
These ideas create more opportunities for cooperation to strengthen our country and help improve conditions in neighboring countries to make them optimal partners for trade and investment.
Based on the development I outlined, you can see how we are committed to making Costa Rica a country of major cultural achievements. With our unbending resolve, we shall continue to work hard to improve the living standards of the people of Costa Rica.
The people of Costa Rica firmly believe that our ally — the Republic of China — will always be with us in our pursuit of national goals, because they have always been the same goals of the Republic of China.
It is the shared hope of the Republic of Costa Rica and the Republic of China that the "blue sky and white sun" will always light the way toward the two countries' goals for protecting freedom and economic prosperity. Finally, I wish that the blue, red, and white colors on the flags of our nations will always fly in the wind to protect our shared democratic, economic, and national values.
Thank you all.
Video Link：https://aam.ly.gov.tw/P000051_03.do/1204
