Great tasks face the nation in the next 25 years

Following are excerpts from the provisional translation of President Soeharto's State Address delivered at the plenary session of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Aug. 16 on the occasion of Indonesia's 49th Independence Day on Aug. 17.

JAKARTA: As a nation, half a century can no longer be regarded as young. But if we look around to the vast corners of the world, we see many nations are much older than ours. Not a few of them are hundreds of years old. They are rich with experience, they have built strong traditions, they have solid political institutions and culture. Some of these countries have attained a very high degree of economic progress and prosperity. Others have not achieved such progress. While others more have even suffered political, economic and social setbacks.

There are several primary elements that make a nation strong. Or, on the contrary, that make nations weak and divided. Among the most important elements are the spirit of nationalism, unity and a sense of togetherness. We have to draw valuable lessons from the experiences of other nations and furthermore, our own experience from the Independence Proclamation until today. We need all of this to widen our horizon in facing the future filled with changes, challenges and opportunities.

As a developing country we feel the rapid flow of changes towards progress. For this reason, there is always a special significance as we commemorate the Independence Day every year. This is also the case on the 17th of August 1994. This is the last year we finalize the first 25-Year Long Term Development program. It is also, at the same time, the first year of the Second Long-Term Development program, the take-off stage.

We concluded the 1993-94 fiscal year last March, marking the completion of REPELITA V. Thus, we have simultaneously brought to a close the First Long-Term Development stage.

The national development we have been carrying out during the First Long-Term Development program cannot be distanced from the strategic environment and its evolution during that particular period.

The end of the Cold War led to the significant reduction of the world tension. Countries all over the world can give greater attention to the problems of prosperity and quality of human life. Nations have been competing to improve their economies.

The emphasis of relations among nations has shifted from political to economic areas. The world attention can be concentrated more on the effort to develop a better and equitable economic order. This can be achieved through free unhindered world trade. With the conclusion of the Uruguay Round negotiations, the world enters a new chapter, namely free trade.

The world is becoming more unified. These developments bring about both benefits and challenges. The unhindered flow of goods and services will stimulate growth and lead to a greater prosperity. But competitive skills are needed to benefit from these developments. Herein lies the challenge. This is the reason why we have been trying hard to see to it that our economy can progress over the ups and downs of global events, by overcoming obstacles that stand on the way.

Economic globalization is followed by another trend, namely regional economic cooperations. The European Community and North American countries have developed them. We too have long established economic cooperation in ASEAN.

In such a world evolution, there is every possibility the advanced countries become more advanced and the underdeveloped become more underdeveloped. Even today there is a growing number of Third World countries which have debt problems that stifle their economies and hamper a sound growth.

In this connection, I would like to appeal to creditor countries and international financial institutions to reduce substantially the bilateral, multilateral and commercial debts so as to constitute a meaningful relief. There must be a permanent solution to the debt problem in order that debtor countries do not have to repeatedly deal with it. The solution must be in such a manner that the countries concerned can truly start their development again.

In these past few days, a Ministerial Meeting of Non-Aligned Countries on Debt and Development was being held in Jakarta. Participants to the meeting are together with us here in this hall and they will also attend the highlights of the commemoration of our Independence Proclamation Day in front of the Independence Palace tomorrow morning.

With this meeting, Indonesia does not intend to take over the task of solving the debt problems of the developing countries. The meeting is aimed at exchanging ideas and experiences on debt and development. The common understanding in the meeting will hopefully pave the way to a comprehensive and permanent solution to the debt and development problems.

The advanced countries are trying to arrange the global economy by themselves. However, the world is undoubtedly far bigger than just the advanced countries. More than two-thirds of the world population actually live in the developing countries.

On account of this fact the Non-Aligned Movement has agreed to promote economic cooperation, mobilize solidarity and forces so that developing countries are not being left even further behind. The approach adopted by the Non-Aligned Movement is cooperation and partnership, not confrontation. This is the reason that along with the cooperation amongst fellow developing countries or South-South cooperation, the Non-Aligned Movement appeals to the advanced countries to participate in the endeavors by the developing countries in helping each other to raise the standard of their prosperity.

An example of cooperation involving advanced and developing countries in one forum is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Next November we will have the honor to host an APEC meeting.

The Asia-Pacific region has a very dynamic growth during the last decade and it is predicted that it has great potential to grow even faster in the future. In the summit meeting held last year in Seattle, the United States of America; APEC leaders issued a statement for cooperation and address jointly the rapid regional and global economic changes. Economic cooperation in this Asia-Pacific region draws great attention from all countries in this region.

Present in this hall are the people's representatives resulting from the general election. In this hall, the People's Consultative Assembly, as holder of the people's sovereignty, holds its session to choose a President and a Vice President, as well as formulate the guidelines of state policy that must be implemented by its Mandatory, namely the President, in discharging his duties. Also in this hall the Government, together with the House of Representatives, discuss and approve laws as guidance of our life as a country, nation and society, based on the constitution and laws. It is here too that the people's representatives supervise the operation of the Government and development in compliance with the mandate of the Constitution.

What is happening here is a reflection of a great continuous process in all stages and at all levels, namely a democratic process. Beginning with the election of a Village Head, Regional Head up to the President, it is the people who makes the decision. The people also determines the direction and goals of development and methods on how to achieve these goals.

All of this does not happen by itself. It is part of national development, namely political development. The development priority has always been on the economic field, but we are aware from the very beginning that in the absence of a political support it is impossible to carry out economic development. The political support indicates two things. First, the creation of a political stability, and second, the people's participation in the decision-making process, its implementation and supervision.

Political stability is a prerequisite for a smooth development, without being harmed by upheavals. Political upheavals prevented the people from concentrating their attention on development. Political upheavals do not bring a peaceful and tranquil feeling, which is greatly needed to mobilize all resources for development.

Learning from our own history or experiences of other nations, we are aware from early on the importance of national stability as a basis for a successful development. Namely development that stimulates growth for the people's just and equitable prosperity. This is the essence of the Trilogy of Development as a development strategy and practical application of Pancasila.

We are aware from the beginning that development requires the participation of all groups, segments and parties of the community. This means that development needs democracy. The experience of many nations shows that without the full and sincere participation of the people, without democracy, progress cannot be achieved optimally. Many nations have in fact suffered from setbacks because they fail to apply democratic principles in their political and economic life. As far as we are concerned, the promotion of democracy is more than a mere necessity. Democracy is a constitutional mandate. The founding fathers of our republic have indicated to us the road to democracy that we have to follow. Our democracy is manifested by the representatives who hold mutual consultation to arrive at a consensus and guided by wisdom.

Political stability and democracy are closely intertwined. We do not want a forced political stability nor on account of the lack of alternatives. Political stability is for the interest of us all. Solid political stability is the application of a sound and fresh democracy. Strong political stability is established because of the support of the people at large.

Political stability does not mean defending outdated values or preserving the status-quo.

We do not need a static political stability but a dynamic one instead. This opens the way to further reform that produces even stronger political stability. We have initiated this reformation since the birth of the New Order, more than 25 years ago. Reform requires an open atmosphere. Over the years the openness has been gradually discernable. New and fresh ideas and values are emerging and become the subjects of open and thorough discussion, taking the good aspects as part of the nation's political culture. However, we must strongly reject and avoid those which are unsuitable to our identity and the essence of nationalism.

What we really need is a responsible openness.

Our nation is so diverse. The history of our development is still young. This makes us vulnerable, especially against divisive elements. Openness does not mean unlimited freedom. Even worse, freedom to be hostile, pitting one party against another and unconstitutionally imposing one's ideas.

Differences of opinion are one of the characteristics of democracy. We must respect every opinion--even though different--as part of fundamental human rights. But as a state under the law, even democracy has its rules. These are stipulated by the Constitution and elaborated further in various laws, as legal products which are in compliance with the people's will. Without rules and without their observance, what will emerge is anarchy, not democracy.

Any political aspirations are justifiable as long as they are presented through democratic and constitutional means.

National stability definitely requires a peaceful and orderly atmosphere. In this respect the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) play quite a prominent role, not only as a defense and security but also as socio-political forces. The Armed Forces as stabilizer and dynamist of development has carried out its task satisfactorily. It has never abandoned its essence as independence soldier who come from the people, fight for the people, together with the people. During five REPELITAs, the funds allotted for the development of the Armed Forces have been very limited. Compared to other countries, especially if we look at the size of the population and the vastness of the territory that have to be defended and secured, the budget allocated for the armed forces is extremely small. In fact, among ASEAN members, the budget for our armed forces is relatively the smallest. However, despite such a condition the task to defend and secure the nation's sovereignty, cohesion, territorial integrity, people's safety and development has been carried out well. With limited budget the Indonesian Armed Forces could still develop itself as a formidable, authoritative and strongly resilient force. The Armed Forces have gone through a process of integration and consolidation and it is now becoming a modern, dependable and effective force. The Indonesian Armed Forces have also participated in the efforts of the community of nations to keep together peace in various parts of the world.

Development in the legal field has also had our great attention. The Constitution sets forth that Indonesia is a state based on law. Therefore, the laws play a central role in our life as a nation. We are aware of the importance of the role of the law as markers along the road to build the nation that offers the feeling of peace, certainty and justice. We have made many efforts to achieve this goal.

In line with the dynamic political stability, development requires economic stability. We can see the result like, among other things, the inflation which has been kept under control. Economic stability is also reflected by a sound balance of payments. The ratio between current account deficit and national product so far has always been kept at around 1.5 to 3.5 percent. Foreign exchange reserves have always been available for approximately five-month import.

Such well-maintained economic stability enables the promotion of activities in all sectors and regions. The result is a relatively high economic growth during these last 25 years.

The economic growth rate during the First Long-Term Development program reached an annual average of 6.8 percent, although there were years where the growth was slow. The growth was much faster than the population growth which stood at an annual average of 2.32 and 1.97 percent respectively for the years 1971 - 1980 and 1980 - 1990. In fact, it went down further in 1993 to 1.66 percent. As a result, the people's standard of prosperity continued to improve.

We have succeeded in increasing the national product. Especially its growth during REPELITA V was adequately high, reaching an annual average of 6.9 percent. This figure is far higher than the goal set for REPELITA V at five percent annually. It was also above the average growth rate for the entire First Long-Term Development program.

The industrial sector has become the prime mover of development. The industrial growth during the First Long-Term Development program reached an annual average of 12.4 percent. The target set for REPELITA V was 8.5 percent annually. And yet we have attained an average annual growth of 10.2 percent. In the meantime, during the First Long-Term Development program the agricultural sector has grown to an annual average of 3.6 percent, a relatively high rate of growth for the agricultural sector. The major contribution to the agricultural growth was the self-sufficiency in rice in 1984. We have been able to maintain this self-sufficiency in a dynamic manner until now, and it serves as a solid foundation for subsequent development stages.

The industrial sector has played an increasingly important role in the overall national production: from 9.2 percent in 1969 to 22.3 percent in 1993. This sector has surpassed the agricultural sector since 1991. The contribution of the agricultural sector to the GDP in 1969 reached almost half or 49.3 percent. In 1993, its role has diminished to 18.5 percent.

Parallel with the changes in the structure of production, there was also some changes in the structure of employment opportunities from agricultural to industrial and service sectors. In 1971, the agricultural sector employed 64.2 percent of the entire work force. In 1990, the number of workers in the agricultural sector declined to 49.9 percent. The number of those working in the industrial and service sectors has become higher compared to those in the agricultural sector. Changes also took place in household activities. In 1983, the number of households involved in the agricultural sector was about 60.5 percent. Whereas the number went down to 51 percent in 1993.

Another important structural change in Indonesia's economy is its declining dependence on oil. The contribution of the oil and gas sector to the national product in 1970 was about 18 percent and rose to around 24 percent 1981. Its contribution started to decline since 1981, after greater activities took place in the non-oil/gas sector. In 1993, the share of oil and gas sector in the national product has declined to 10.8 percent.

Our economic growth -- especially in the industrial sector -- was made possible by higher industrial capabilities. Our industrial products can compete in the international markets. By the end of REPELITA V there were 400 types of industry that were developed. About 4,000 kinds of our industrial commodities penetrated the world markets, starting from handicrafts to high- tech industrial products like airplanes.

The non-oil/gas export clearly became the principal strength of our economic growth, particularly during the last two REPELITAs in the First Long-Term Development program, primarily export of manufactured goods.

Since the beginning to the end of the First Long-Term Development program, the total export value has risen 42 times or an average of 15.9 percent annually. When our export value in 1968 was a mere US$ 872 million, it jumped to US$ 36.5 billion in 1993 - 1994. During the same period the export value of non- oil/gas has gone up even higher, namely to approximately 48 times or an average increase of 16.5 percent annually. At the end of the First Long-Term Development program, non-oil/gas export constituted 74 percent of the entire foreign exchange revenues. 63.4 percent of this export consisted of manufactured goods.

The size of the export share reflects the economic growth. When in REPELITA I the share of total export in our economic growth was at an average of 31 percent annually, in REPELITA V it has gone up to an average of about 49 percent annually.

What is most encouraging of the developments in the export sector is the role of the small-scale industries. In 1993, the small-scale industries contributed 10.3 percent of the total export of industrial commodities. In REPELITA V, the export value of small-scale industries has grown quite substantially, namely by an annual average of 22 percent.

The growth of the cooperatives as the people's economic forum has also been heartening. This must be constantly intensified in order to enhance its quality and role. Before REPELITA I we had about 9,300 cooperatives. By the end of REPELITA V, the number has grown to 42,000.

We are able to make this progress because we succeeded in constructing the supporting infrastructures. They have become more extensive, diversified and the quality of its services improved.

The development of power generation has multiplied many times over. This must continue to be further intensified in order to catch up with the extremely rapid growth of the industrial sector. The provision of electricity has also improved the general well-being. Back in 1971, there were only six out of 100 households that had electricity. Today, more than half of households are enjoying electricity. Almost half of villages are supplied with electricity that stimulates the economy and light more than 30,000 villages.

During the First Long-Term Development program, the telephone exchange boards have multiplied 38 times. The telephone density has also risen from 15 per 10,000 persons at the beginning of REPELITA I to 159 per 10,000 persons at the end of REPELITA V.

The communication network has also grown rapidly. In the land communication, at the end of the First Long-Term Development program the roads extended to more than 244,000 kilometers; consisted of national, provincial, district and urban roads. We are also building small roads leading to remote rural areas. The smooth transportation is also sustained by and increasingly consolidated means. The number of motor vehicles has increased by more than 20 times during the First Long-Term Development program.

Sea communication is extremely vital for Indonesia as an archipelago state. During the First Long-Term Development program various harbor facilities were built and expanded in 656 locations and most of them are in remote areas. At the end of REPELITA V, there were three harbors functioning as container ports, namely Tanjung Priok, Belawan and Tanjung Perak. In order to sustain smooth foreign trade, 127 harbors were designated as export harbors, 55 of them are located in the eastern part of Indonesia, so that they can export directly and thus raises the competitiveness of the local export products.

Apart from sea communication, our geographical situation dictates us to develop air communication. During the First Long- Term Development program, the number of airports has increased from 108 to 146, whereby 88 of them serve the isolated areas.

The construction of irrigation network plays an important role in raising agricultural production, especially to attain food self-sufficiency. During the First Long-Term Development program, we have built new irrigation networks providing water to almost 1.7 million hectares of paddy-fields and rehabilitated existing irrigation network of around 2.9 million hectares. As a result, we have also consolidated the irrigation for farmlands.

We have extended the provision of clean water reaching 80 percent of our urban population and 50 percent of the rural population. In the beginning of the First Long-Term Development program, only 20 percent of our urban population enjoyed clean water.

The welfare improvement is also evident in the sector of housing and settlement. During the First Long-Term Development program, we have built about 856,000 simple and very simple houses. We have renovated around 558,000 houses scattered in more than 37,000 villages.

Between the years 1971-1990, the work force has risen to 32.6 million. At the same time, development has succeeded in creating almost 34 million jobs. Consequently, the number of job-seekers has declined from 3.6 million in 1971 to 2.3 million in 1990. The structure of work force has also shifted to sectors which have high value-added, that is from the agricultural to industrial and service sectors.

Today, practically almost all children between 7-12 years old are following elementary education. At the start of the First Long-Term Development program, there were only four out of 10 children who attended elementary school. The secondary school pupils -- including the equivalent Islamic schools -- are now numbering seven million, covering more than half of the 13-15 years old. This number is almost six times higher than at the start of REPELITA I. The number of high school pupils by the end of the First Long-Term Development program reached 3.8 million, a substantial increase from only about 480,000 in 1968. If the Islamic high school pupils are also included, the number reaches 4.2 million, or more than one-third of adolescents between 16-18 years old. In the higher education, including religious universities, the number of students has risen from around 156,000 in 1968 to 2.3 million during the 1993-94 scholastic year. This means more than 10 percent of boys and girls between 19-24 years old are studying in universities.

The number of over 10 years old who are illiterate has decreased significantly, from more than 39 percent at the beginning of the First Long-Term Development program to around 14 percent by the end of REPELITA V.

In 1967, the life expectancy was 45.7 years. Now, it has risen to 62.7 years. During the same period, the infant mortality rate has declined from 145 to 58 per 100 childbirths. The provision of energy food has risen from 2,035 kilo calories in 1968 to 2,991 kilo calories per person/day in 1992. The increased energy food was accompanied by greater supply of protein, fat and other nutritious sources.

The improved public health and nutrition is closely linked with the improvement of health services to the public at large. During the 1968-1993 period, the number of doctors has increased from around four to almost 17 doctors serving 100,000 persons. Health services through the Public Health Centers have reached all corners of the country, now numbering close to 7,000. In addition, they are also supported by Auxiliary and Mobile Public Health Centers.

Another important development that took place during the First Long-Term Development program was the enhanced role of women. The number of women who enjoyed education rose by 38 percent between the years 1980 and 1990. The number of women workers has increased by six percent or more than double the percentage of the increase of men workers during the same period. Through the Family Welfare Movement (PKK) and Integrated Service Posts, women played a prominent role in improving the people's well-being by way of raising their health standard and nutrition, especially in the rural areas.

Development is not limited to physical things alone, but it also covers all aspects of life. We believe the right development is the development of complete individuals and the whole of the society. For this reason, therefore, we give full attention to the development of religion, so that religious followers can perform their religious worship as well and easy as possible.

The cultural aspect of development has never been neglected. We see development as a process of cultural changes, from ignorance and backwardness to progress. Thus, development also requires the promotion of cultural values that sustain the process of reform and modernization, without abandoning the fundamental values that mold Indonesia's national identity.

One of the important aspects of national development is regional development. Development is not centralized and carried by the central government alone. Development is also implemented by all regions.

It is precisely through the regional development that the participation, initiative and creativity of the people are being encouraged to develop by capitalizing on the available resources and potentials in the regions. To distribute regional development resources and, at the same time, to support the regional effort in developing and mobilizing development resources in the respective regions, assistance is being given from the State Budget.

This assistance is included in the INPRES program, the size of which continues to be larger. Furthermore, the greater portion of the land and building tax is returned to the regions.

The regional development is supported by transmigration. The movement of people to outside Java through the transmigration program has to date reached around eight million persons. Compared to the number of people who moved to Java, those moving out of Java is still larger. The transmigration program has stimulated regional economic growth, raised productivity and created new employment opportunities in the regions.

Most of the provinces in the eastern part of Indonesia have registered high growth rate. This is very encouraging. The latest data on regional gross domestic product demonstrates it. During the first three years of REPELITA V, out of the 13 provinces categorized as the eastern part of Indonesia -- including provinces in Kalimantan -- 10 of them have grown above the national average. Four out of five provinces that have an average growth rate of above nine percent are actually located in the eastern part of Indonesia. These provinces are: Southeast Sulawesi with an average growth of 12.4 percent, East Timor 9.8 percent, Irian Jaya 9.7 percent and Central Sulawesi 9.3 percent. This shows that the equitable distribution of intra-regional development is going on.

We have carried out many activities in REPELITA V to enhance the environment. We have, among other things, rehabilitated critical lands and preserved forests totaling 44 million hectares, reduced the pollution of 32 major rivers, improved the sanitation of cities and developed the systems and methods of development that do not harm the environment. The awareness of the people about the importance of the environment has been growing. The active participation of the people to preserve the environment continues.

Our development has apparently touched all segments of the society. The results of development have been enjoyed by the people at the lowest economic rank. This is clearly evidenced by the higher income of the poor population. The yardstick is the declining number of people who are living below the subsistence level.

In 1970, the number of poor people was estimated to be around 70 million or 60 percent of the whole of the Indonesian population. In 1993, it was substantially reduced to 25.9 million or 13.7 percent of Indonesia's total population. Whereas, in fact during the same period Indonesia's population has increased by around 73 million.

We are highly encouraged that the number of the poor has declined very substantially. Yet we are aware the remaining number is still quite big.

We have also noted that the rate of decline of the number of the poor is slowing down. We can draw the conclusion that the remaining poor people are those who have the lowest economic potential. These brothers and sisters of ours are living in remote areas and become more concentrated in pockets of poverty.

In order to overcome this poverty problem, we have launched a poverty alleviation program specifically directed to the poor. During the final year of REPELITA V, efforts were made to identify villages that on account of their serious backwardness became pockets of poverty. After improving the criteria and evaluation system several times, we finally came to the conclusion that there are 20,633 villages which need special attention with a view to alleviating poverty. This is the reason why starting with REPELITA VI, we are developing the Least- Developed village INPRES. The objective is to directly overcome poverty in these least-developed villages.

The achievement we have made demonstrated that we have succeeded in attaining the goals of the First Long-Term Development program, namely the fulfillment of the people's basic needs and the creation of a balanced economic structure. We have been carrying out development by subscribing consistently to the Trilogy of Development. We have created economic stability and managed its consolidation. We have achieved an adequately high economic growth. We have carried out development resulting in the enhancement of the people's well-being in a more equitable manner.

In the Second Long-Term Development program we want to create an advanced, prosperous and self-reliant society in a harmonious living surrounding. We translate this goal by setting up various targets. The REPELITA VI document contains the development targets of the Second Long-Term Development program and REPELITA VI in particular, as well as the strategy on how to reach them.

One of the most crucial targets is the quadrupling of the real value of the per-capita income of Indonesians by the end of the Second Long-Term Development program. To this end, we must have an economic growth rate with an average of over seven percent annually. Various sectors must mutually support and reinforce each other. The industrial sector, that we rely upon, must have a rapid growth.

The growth of the industrial sector at the beginning of the Second Long-Term Development program -- namely during the current REPELITA VI -- must consolidate further the existing industrial structure. Our industry must make the best possible use of our comparative advantages, namely the abundant natural and human resources. But this alone is not sufficient. The foundation of our industry must also be reinforced and strengthened. Its technological contents must be upgraded, so as to produce goods with high value-added and, at the same time, strongly competitive. We have to improve the design and engineering aspects. We have to strengthen the downstream industry, which so far has been the mainstay of our export and it must also be linked with the intermediate and upstream industries. This is the path we have to follow in developing a dependable and self- supporting national industry.

We have chosen industrialization as the main road for economic growth. This selection is not without reason. We are hoping that it is precisely the industrial sector that will produce greater value-added growth and absorb a great number of highly productive workers.

This certainly does not mean that we neglect the agricultural sector, which continues to be important in our economy. The sufficient supply of foodstuffs is very essential for a nation with large population like Indonesia. This remains the primary task of the agricultural sector. In this respect, we are aware that although we have made much progress, the agricultural development continues to face big obstacles.

We ought to shift manpower from the agricultural to other sectors, especially the industrial sector. So far, the income of workers in the agricultural sector is lower than those in other sectors.

The process of transferring manpower from the agricultural to industrial sector usually occurs as an urbanization process. It also creates problems, because the urban areas are not always prepared to accommodate the too rapid flow of additional population. Therefore, the strategy to overcome this problem is by developing industry in the rural areas, so that industrialization does not always have to mean urbanization. This is the reason why we should develop immediately agro-industry and agro-business, especially in the rural areas.

For this purpose, it requires hard work and serious effort on our part. Above all, it needs the participation of a broader segment of the population and better-qualified people. Consequently, the development of human resources receives a great attention in the Second Long-Term Development program. For this purpose, we have to develop the correct development programs in all sectors. We ought to continue and intensify our institutional development-- whether economic, social, political or even governmental --in order to pioneer and support the reformation and modernization of our society.

Apart from our target for growth, we have a clear and firm objective for an equitable distribution. We are planning to fundamentally overcome the issue of poverty in two REPELITAs. We will stimulate faster the development of the least-developed areas. We want to build a strong and self-reliant small and medium-size businesses as an effort to raise the equitable distribution of business and build a dependable business world. We must build the cooperatives as the people's effective economic forum.

We shall continue the deregulation and debureaucratization. The goal is to prepare for a highly competitive global economy that can survive in the increasingly unified and competitive economy. Deregulation and debureaucratization certainly do not mean setting up a liberal economic system that allows free competition. The 1993 Guidelines of State Policy explicitly demands us that this should be avoided.

Consequently, deregulation and debureaucratization, as well as other incentives to raise our economic competitiveness must be followed-up, so that our economy stays on course in realizing the aspirations of the proclamation of independence. All the efforts, resources and potentials, as well as policies must lead to an economy imbued with justice. We must of course take into account the fundamental economic principles. However, we also have to strike a better balance of opportunities and ensure that our economic system brings about prosperity to everybody.

These are the great tasks of our development in the days to come.

Window A: Openness does not mean unlimited freedom. Even worse, freedom to be hostile, pitting one party against another and unconstitutionally imposing one's ideas.