President Tsai names TSMC founder Morris Chang as envoy to 2021 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting
On the morning of November 2, President Tsai Ing-wen held a press conference to announce that she has invited Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company founder Dr. Morris Chang (張忠謀) to once again serve as her representative at the 2021 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM). The 29th AELM will be hosted on November 12 by New Zealand, which also held an APEC Informal Leaders' Retreat held in July.
President Tsai expressed hope that, as leader's representative, Dr. Chang will inspire more support for Taiwan's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) among APEC members, will urge APEC to act so that all countries can more quickly and equitably acquire safe and effective vaccines, and will call for using digital technology to create more resilient healthcare systems. The president emphasized that the use of technology has been key to Taiwan's success in controlling the pandemic, and that we will continue to share our experience with the international community in order to fight the pandemic together.
A translation of President Tsai's remarks follows:
This year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be hosted by New Zealand on November 12. It will also be this year's second meeting of APEC leaders. I want to thank Dr. Chang for taking on this important responsibility and for once again representing me at the meeting.
At the APEC Informal Leaders' Retreat this past July, Dr. Chang conveyed Taiwan's ideas and proposals on how to address the issues of vaccines and economic recovery. Discussions at the upcoming meeting will focus on the challenges and opportunities of the post-pandemic era.
At the upcoming APEC meeting, Dr. Chang will communicate Taiwan's support for and commitment to free trade. I am confident that APEC will continue to uphold the spirit of free trade, help accelerate post-pandemic economic recovery, and ensure the reliability of global supply chains.
In September, Taiwan formally applied for CPTPP membership. Taiwan's participation would help forge industry links between CPTPP members and strengthen regional economic security. I have therefore asked Dr. Chang to urge more APEC members to support Taiwan's CPTPP accession at this meeting.
Dr. Chang has been paying close attention to the easing of border restrictions, and I very much agree with his sentiment that vaccination is key to this effort. This is why we are calling on APEC to help all countries more quickly and equitably acquire safe and effective vaccines.
We also encourage APEC members to use digital technology to develop resilient healthcare systems. The use of technology has been key to Taiwan's success in controlling the pandemic, and we will continue to share our experience with the international community in order to fight the pandemic together.
Taiwan is willing and able to contribute our expertise. This year, we celebrate our 30th year as an APEC member. Over these past three decades, Taiwan's cooperation with other members has spurred change and development. Facing the situation of today, Taiwan hopes to contribute even more and help the APEC community so we can continue to move forward together.
With his extensive expertise and experience, I know that Dr. Chang will be able to clearly communicate Taiwan's desire to contribute to regional development while opening up space for further cooperation and creating opportunities for Taiwan to excel.
In closing, I would like to once again thank Dr. Chang and the members of our APEC delegation for taking on this important responsibility and for speaking up on behalf of Taiwan. I wish you all success at the meeting.
Dr. Chang, in his remarks, said that it is an honor to serve as leader's representative at this year's APEC. Dr. Chang stated that, although there will not be opportunities to interact directly with other leaders at the upcoming online meeting hosted by New Zealand, each leader and representative will still have several minutes to share their views, and noted that President Tsai just earlier expressed our hope to join the CPTPP.
Dr. Chang also conveyed his belief that in order to bring about a post-pandemic economic recovery, there must first be a recovery in international business travel, which requires that everyone be vaccinated. Dr. Chang stated that in addition to opening borders, we need to embrace the spirit of free trade, a point that he made at the APEC Informal Leaders' Retreat this past July and that he will make again at the upcoming meeting as he strives to accomplish his mission.
Later, in response to a reporter's question about how he intends to persuade other APEC members to assist Taiwan in gaining admission to the CPTPP, Dr. Chang stated that each AELM attendee will have six minutes to say what they want, and that he will make two main points when explaining what Taiwan would bring to the CPTPP: first, that Taiwan accounts for a relatively large share of all trade among CPTPP members; and, more importantly, that Taiwan is already closely aligned with the extremely high standards of the CPTPP as a multilateral trade agreement.
Among those present at the press conference were Secretary-General to the President David T. Lee (李大維), National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄), Minister without Portfolio John C. C. Deng (鄧振中), Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-Hua (王美花), National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉), and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Ho-jen Tseng (曾厚仁), as well as APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) delegates Acer Chairman Jason Chen (陳俊聖), Quanta Computer CTO Ted Chang (張嘉淵), and KKday CEO Ming Chen (陳明明), who was attending as the representative of Taiwan Mobile President Jamie Lin (林之晨).
Hosted by New Zealand this year, the AELM will follow the APEC Informal Leaders' Retreat held this past July 16, and is scheduled to be held online on the evening of November 12 (Taipei time).
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern earlier appointed Dame Fran Wilde, Chair of the Asia New Zealand Foundation, to serve as her second special envoy and present an AELM invitation to President Tsai.
In addition to the AELM, which is set to take place on November 12, New Zealand will hold this year's APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) from November 8 to 9. Minister without Portfolio and Chief Trade Representative John C.C. Deng will represent Taiwan at the session on November 8, where participants will discuss how to use trade to accelerate economic recovery, and Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-Hua will represent Taiwan at the session on November 9, which will focus on promoting economic growth through economic and technical cooperation.
On November 11, ABAC delegates and economic leaders will engage in a dialogue where participants will break up into five different groups for discussions. Dr. Chang and Taiwan's three delegates to the ABAC – Acer Chairman Jason Chen, Quanta Computer CTO Ted Chang, and Taiwan Mobile President Jamie Lin – will all take part in these sessions.