President Tsai appoints new delegates to APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC)
With the 3rd APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Meeting set to take place in Shenzhen, mainland China on August 1-4, President Tsai Ing-wen appointed three new delegates to ABAC—I-Mei Foods Co. Chairman Henry Kao (高志尚), PChome Online Inc. Chairman Hung-Tze Jan (詹宏志), and Industrial Bank of Taiwan Vice Chairperson Tina Y. Lo (駱怡君).
At the same time, the president also thanked the three outgoing delegates to ABAC—Cathay Financial Holdings Chairman Hong-Tu Tsai (蔡宏圖), MiTac-Synnex Group Chairman Matthew F.C. Miau (苗豐強), and HTC Corporation Chairwoman Cher Wang (王雪紅)—for their work to promote Taiwan's economic and trade diplomacy. In particular, she noted that these three entrepreneurs, during their time as delegates, have taken active part in ABAC meetings and have spoken in support of the shared interests of Taiwan and the region with respect to such matters as regional integration, the energy crisis, food security, small and medium enterprises, and financial issues.
The three newly appointed ABAC delegates are outstanding entrepreneurs with professional expertise in food manufacturing, e-commerce, and financial innovation, and also represent three different generations of business leaders. In the future, they will be able to take advantage of their participation in ABAC to help more Taiwanese companies step onto the international stage, assist Taiwan's new innovative industries to integrate into the international economy, and enable the international community to become more familiar with Taiwanese enterprises.
Chairman Henry Kao previously served as an ABAC delegate for 14 years from 1996 to 2009. He is thus deeply experienced and has a very good understanding of how APEC has developed. In ABAC, moreover, he has helped our private sector to establish a very strong network of personal relationships, and stands ready and willing to share his ABAC experience with others, for which the president expressed deep appreciation.
Chairman Hung-Tze Jan has built PChome Online into Taiwan's largest e-commerce group. In 2012 he founded the Taiwan Internet and E-Commerce Association to pool the resources of the business community and lead Taiwan's innovative e-commerce companies in a campaign to expand business opportunities in Southeast Asia.
Vice Chairperson Tina Y. Lo has worked hard to support youth entrepreneurship, and is the only Eisenhower Fellow from Taiwan who has also been selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. Having a woman delegate to ABAC highlights Taiwan's support for APEC's strong focus in recent years on issues involving "women and the economy".
ABAC and APEC this year are both zeroing in on the same topic: Quality Growth and Human Development. This topic focuses on the following priorities: consolidating progress towards the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific; facilitating development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through access to global markets and new technologies; promoting economic growth, diversification, and sustainability; and strengthening rule of law and economic and social sustainability.