Albrich reiterated this year’s ECCT Position Papers in urging the government to face reality by normalizing economic relations with its Asian neighbor and securing Taiwan’s prosperity.

“Normalizing economic relations with mainland China is crucial to Taiwan’s economic survival and its future prosperity,” said Albrich yesterday in a meeting with reporters. “We urge the government to speed up cross strait business normalization.”

The government is currently overseeing negotiations with mainland China on allowing a limited number of mainland tour groups to come to Taiwan amid calls for unrestricted direct transport links between the two sides.

Albrich said that Taiwan’s economic development is being hampered by cross-strait restrictions and cited a study done by ECCT which concludes that business normalization between the two sides would lead to a dramatic turnaround in the economy.

The study stated that many service industries could flourish in Taiwan if travel restrictions were lifted.

“We will continue to urge the government to normalize cross-strait business ties,” said Albrich.

ECCT also outlined other issues which it has raised with the government including eliminating over-regulation, complying with WTO commitments, accelerating the development of the service industry, and taxation.

In particular, ECCT objected to the Environmental Protection Administration’s new draft proposal requiring supermarkets and hypermarkets to reduce the amount of five types of plastic by 25 percent.

ECCT said that the proposed rules does not include other outlets such as convenience stores and traditional wet markets.

ECCT added that the reduction of plastic would lead to an 284 percent increase in expenditure on food packaging which will have an inflationary effect on the purchase of fresh foods in Taiwan.

The chamber also voiced its concerns over the short lead time given to retailers in the implementation of the policy and urged the government to provide more packaging alternatives to the five plastics that the government intends to reduce.

“The Taiwan government should provide more packaging alternatives to PS, PET, PE, PP... and not leave the responsibility only to industry,” the ECCT said in a statement.

The European Commission has sent a formal letter to the government raising concerns about the new draft proposal.

On the subject of cellular base stations, ECCT cites international studies in maintaining that electromagnetic radiation levels emitted from the stations do not pose a danger to health.

ECCT maintains that mobile phone network operators are unnecessarily forced to relocate base stations based on a minority of public complaints to the government that cost the industry NT$2 billion a year.

The chamber announced its new chairman and board of directors for 2007 during yesterday’s meeting with reporters.

TUV Rheinland Managing Director Ralf Scheller will chair the board with Siemens Limited Taiwan President and CEO Albrich serving as vice chairman.

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