President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of November 13 at the Presidential Office met with the delegation that will represent the nation at the 2008 APEC Economic Leaders' Week The president expressed his gratitude to National Policy Foundation (NPF) Chairman Lien Chan for representing him and the nation at the forum. The president also thanked all the members of the delegation heading to the event for their hard work. He wished them success on their journey and hopes they will earn more respect for Taiwan.
President Ma said that NPF Chairman Lien, who will represent the ROC (Taiwan) at the meeting, has in the past held many important public positions and has an enormous amount of experience. In addition, when he served as premier, Chairman Lien was responsible for proposing the plan to create Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Center, which conforms to the basic principles of APEC. President Ma said that 40 years ago Chairman Lien served as ROC Ambassador to the Republic of El Salvador and has a strong foundation in Spanish. This is another important edge that he will have in attending the meeting to be held in Lima, Peru.
Earlier in the day, President Ma was interviewed by members of the press from Chile, Mexico and Peru. The journalist from Peru expressed special interest in what types of development Taiwan could bring to Latin America. In response, the president said that APEC member countries all hope to sign free trade agreements under the APEC framework. However, negotiating and inking FTAs is not an easy task. Nonetheless, APEC offers a good platform for Taiwan in which to seek such agreements. The president added that in the past, Taiwan has aggressively promoted APEC Digital Opportunity Centers among member nations. This program provides hardware and software assistance to member countries in information education. At present, eight information education centers have been set up in Peru and have been well-received by local governments. In addition, the president said, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are willing to provide assistance of this kind to other member nations. President Ma said the vibrant development of Taiwan's small- and medium-sized enterprises has attracted considerable interest from APEC member nations, many of which hope that Taiwan companies will invest in their countries. These are among the various areas that Taiwan's delegation will address during its stay in Peru, he said.
NPF Chairman Lien said that he is honored to serve as President Ma's envoy in attending the 16th APEC annual forum. He also realizes he shoulders a heavy responsibility during this trip. Chairman Lien said that the world is now at a critical juncture in time. In addition to the global financial crisis that is impacting the world and wide swings in raw materials prices, the Asia-Pacific region continues to face what seems like a never-ending string of natural disasters. As a member of the global village, it is Taiwan's duty to work together with others in this time of difficulty. He said that the theme of this year's APEC meetings, "A New Commitment to Asia-Pacific Development," is a clear call for everyone to exchange opinions and share experiences with regards to pressing issues facing the region, and to foster opportunities for sustainable development.
President Ma attributed the ability to send Chairman Lien to the summit as a goodwill gesture by Mainland China. He said that cooperation in a variety of areas between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is fostering mutual trust and enabling the two sides to achieve consensus on related issues. He said that the recent visit by Mainland China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chairman Chen Yunlin to Taiwan achieved the objective of "facing up to the reality, mutual non-denial, working for the benefits of the people, and cross-strait peace." President Ma said that Chairman Lien's attendance at the APEC meeting will help to yield even more results in fostering peace between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.