President Chen said that Taiwan is grateful to the Republic of Korea for using its diplomatic and political clout to enable Taiwan, Hong Kong and China to become members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. The president also said that in 1991, Korea wrote a page in Taiwan's history by supporting its admission into APEC and is certain Korea will write another page in APEC history by hosting a successful summit.
The president reminded visitors that no Taiwanese leader has ever been able to participate in APEC's annual informal leaders' summit. The president hopes to be able to attend this meeting in person with the help of Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.
The president gave the following reasons for why he hopes to attend the informal leaders' summit:
1. It was only through the political and diplomatic assistance of the Korean government that Taiwan, Hong Kong and China became official APEC members.
2. Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung achieved the task of opening a dialogue between the leaders of North and South Korea. President Chen believes that under the current leadership of President Roh, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait can achieve similar success by meeting in November at the APEC's informal leaders' summit in Korea
3. As a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Hong Kong has the right to be present at the informal leaders' summit and since Taiwan is also a member, it likewise desires to fulfill its duties and enjoy its rights. Taiwan should not be excluded.
4. During a phone call on May 6th of this year, U.S. President George W. Bush requested Chinese President Hu Jintao to hold direct talks with Taiwanese elected leaders. U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice reiterated the same request on July 10th, while visiting Beijing. The informal leaders' summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is not a political event; therefore it is the best platform to discuss regional economic cooperation and for leaders across the Taiwan Strait to meet and engage in dialogue.
The president emphasized that Taiwan will take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation under the title of "Chinese Taipei." Although this is unsatisfactory, Taiwanese authorities will respect the current situation and will not challenge the name issue. Therefore, the Chinese government and President Hu Jintao should not have any objections to President Chen's participation, especially when attending the informal leaders summit is an obligation and responsibility of the member countries. While other countries' leaders are also invited to attend the summit, Taiwan must not be disregarded. The president hopes that the special envoy of Kim Jong-hoon will bring this message to President Roh Moo-hyun and reiterate Taiwan's willingness to participate as Chinese Taipei.
President Chen also expressed his agreement and support regarding the theme of "communal groupings: face challenges and launch reforms" for the Pusan meeting. Leaders at the summit will discuss seven issues including "promoting trade liberalization," "human security" and "sharing of the prosperity of knowledge economy". In the past two years, the proposals made by Taiwan's representative at the APEC meeting, president of the Academia Sinica, Dr. Lee Yuan-tze, also received positive responses from other participants at the conference. The proposals included establishing an "APEC Digital Opportunity Center" and strengthening research and production of vaccine against contagious diseases. Presently, the Taiwan government is helping Vietnam, the Philippines and Peru in developing and promoting an APEC Digital Opportunity Center by creating offices. Taiwan is also making use of its economy and technology by offering assistance to member countries in humanitarian care and other fields. The Taiwan government is pleased with the positive results.
Special envoy Kim Jong-hoon, a senior officer of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, expressed his affirmation and praised the efforts Taiwan has made. Kim said he will convey President Chen's intention to attend the informal leaders' summit in Pusan to President Roh, as well as, other member countries, and that Korea is willing to work towards this goal.