"Taiwan is the geographic heartland of Chinese culture and the hub for the use of traditional Chinese characters. It should therefore make the best use of these advantages to promote Minnan (southern Fujian) and Hakka cultures in a market of two billion Chinese people," said Chu.

He was commenting on what he called "the international language of the 21st Century" -- Mandarin -- at the opening ceremony of the 2009 Taiwan Venture Forum (TVF) in Taipei.

Chu reiterated the government's determination to promote six key emerging industries-- biotechnology, tourism, health care, cultural and creative industries, green energy and high-end agriculture -- to enhance domestic industrial development and to strengthen Taiwan's competitiveness.

In combination with its strength in the ICT industry, Taiwan should also develop strategic industries and green energy, focusing on products such as light-emitting diodes (LED), photovoltaic and electric cars, he added.

The vice premier expressed confidence in the prospects for Taiwan's ICT industry, saying that it is important for the country to promote the concept of a "new 3C era, " which will take industrial development in Taiwan and the rest of the world to a whole new level.

To achieve that goal, Chu said, Taiwan should start with "cloud computing, " which is a Web-enabled software solution based on the use of computer technology to allow clients who have no knowledge of or expertise in the technology infrastructure to complete common business applications online. The government is also working on streamlining its administrative operations and modernizing the country's laws, he added, noting that it has already revised 425 investment-related regulations.

Turning to economic issues such as the proposed cross-Taiwan Strait economic cooperation framework agreement and the signing of a memorandum of understanding on financial regulatory cooperation between Taiwan and China, Chu said that there will always be opposition, but the government hopes that the public will support policies that are moving the country in the right direction.

(By Chou Pin-chun and Rachel Chan)