President Tsai names TSMC founder Morris Chang as 2022 APEC envoy
The 2022 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) hosted by Thailand will be held on November 18 to 19 in Bangkok, and will convene in person for the first time in three years. On the morning of October 20, after meeting with our national delegation to the 2022 AELM at the Presidential Office, President Tsai Ing-wen announced that she will for the fifth time invite Dr. Morris Chang (張忠謀), founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), to act as her representative to attend the 2022 AELM.
President Tsai expressed hope that Dr. Chang and all the delegation members will convey our positions to all the meeting participants. These positions include an appeal to work together to find an appropriate balance between trade that is both open and fair, supply chains that are secure and effective, and economic development that is inclusive and sustainable. The president added that we must develop an economic framework and regulations we can all abide by that are geared toward forward-looking progress. She also stated that we want to make other countries fully appreciate the importance of Taiwan's key role in global industrial supply chains, especially in the semiconductor industry, and to show Taiwan's determination and efforts to pursue sustainable economic development.
The president also expressed hope that by sharing Taiwan's experiences, the delegation can clearly convey that Taiwan is willing to contribute our capabilities to the global community and work with the world to promote stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
A translation of President Tsai's remarks follows:
I would like to formally announce that we will once again invite Dr. Morris Chang to serve as our Leader's Representative at APEC and represent me at the AELM in Bangkok next month.
Dr. Chang has acted as our Leader's Representative at APEC four times before, from 2018 through 2021. In this role, he has communicated important suggestions on how to promote regional development and prosperity, provided a voice for Taiwan, and raised our international profile. He has played his role to perfection, as his message has resonated with countries around the world. I want to take this opportunity to convey my deepest thanks to Leader's Representative Chang.
The global economy faces multiple challenges, and APEC members have a shared responsibility to pave the way for a new post-pandemic economy. In this regard, the critically important role played by Taiwan's semiconductor industry, and especially by TSMC, not only at home but also in the global economy, has escaped no one's attention.
It is fair to say that, at this key juncture, there is no one more suitable to be our Leader's Representative than Dr. Chang. That is the main reason I have invited him to assume this role for a fifth time.
This year's AELM will convene in person for the first time in three years, so everyone is looking forward to it with great anticipation.
It is worth noting that factors including significant changes in the global economy at this moment, competition between the US and China, and the Russia-Ukraine war are having a broad impact on the Asia-Pacific regional economy.
With such complex and sensitive conditions, all the nations taking part in this year's APEC proceedings have an important responsibility to ensure that this event generates consensus on how to ensure regional stability, equilibrium, and growth.
Taiwan's international visibility has increased significantly in recent times, so at this year's APEC meetings, our performance and point of view will be the subject of greater attention than before. I therefore hope that Dr. Chang and the members of our delegation will convey the following three important positions to all the meeting participants.
The first position is an appeal to APEC member states to address differences of opinion within the region, and work to find an appropriate balance between trade that is both open and fair, supply chains that are secure and effective, and economic development that is inclusive and sustainable. Then we must develop an economic framework and regulations we can all abide by that are geared toward forward-looking progress.
Second, we want to ensure that other countries fully appreciate the importance of Taiwan's key role in global industrial supply chains, especially in the semiconductor industry. At the same time, we are also willing to cooperate with our regional partners to create secure, reliable, and resilient industrial supply chains.
Third, we want to show Taiwan's determination and efforts to pursue sustainable economic development. That includes keeping pace with global efforts to address climate change and vigorously promoting green transformation, as well as significantly improving labor benefits, women's rights, and care for disadvantaged groups, and working toward balanced social development.
I also hope that during the APEC meetings, by sharing Taiwan's experiences, we can help APEC member states to make even greater contributions to regional and global sustainable development.
I am confident that Dr. Chang can clearly convey to the global community that Taiwan is willing to contribute our capabilities and work with the world to promote stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
I believe that under Dr. Chang's leadership, this year's APEC delegation can successfully achieve its mission, and generate even more substantive international cooperation and connections for Taiwan.
Dr. Chang, in his remarks, said that he would accept the president's appointment with humility and respect. He also noted that we now find ourselves in very challenging circumstances, and that APEC is a very important international venue; perhaps the most important one for us.
Dr. Chang mentioned that the president had earlier directed the delegation to clearly deliver several messages to the other APEC member states, and to the entire world. The first of which, he stated, was that Taiwan will work with reliable partners to establish secure and resilient supply chains, especially in the electronics sector. The second, he said, is that Taiwan has already done much to address climate change, but much more remains to be done. Dr. Chang added that Taiwan aims to use the APEC venue to inform its member states and the entire world of our efforts on this front.
Dr. Chang said he would follow the president's instruction to deliver these two messages, and added that various informal venues would also present opportunities to interact with leaders of other nations. Dr. Chang said he would take full advantage of occasions when no third parties are present and it is possible to have one-on-one conversations to communicate Taiwan's positions and seek everyone's support.
Dr. Chang said he was very pleased to be appointed by the president as the Leader's Representative to APEC for a fifth time, but noted that only one of his previous four APEC summits featured in-person attendance, so this will be just his second time appearing in person. Of the other three previous summits, he stated that the first was to be held in Chile but was canceled, while the next two summits in Malaysia and New Zealand, respectively were held online. Attending now in person for the second time, Dr. Chang said he hopes the delegation can live up to the president's expectations and achieve its appointed tasks.
This year's APEC Economic Leaders' Week formally begins on November 14, and will include a series of meetings. In addition to the AELM, an APEC Ministerial Meeting will be convened on November 17, with the morning session devoted to discussing balanced, inclusive, and sustainable growth, which National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) will attend. The afternoon session that day will focus on open and sustainable trade and investment and will be attended by Minister without Portfolio and Chief Representative of the Executive Yuan's Office of Trade Negotiations John C. C. Deng (鄧振中). Both Ministers Kung and Deng will also attend a working lunch under the theme "Reconnecting the Region."
The APEC Leaders' Dialogue with the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) will be held on November 18, with the host country dividing the leader's representatives and ABAC representatives from the various countries into five groups to discuss themes that focus on sustainability, regional economic integration, digitalization, and inclusion. Taiwan's ABAC representatives – Acer Chairman Jason Chen (陳俊聖), Taiwan Mobile President Jamie Lin (林之晨), and Quanta Computer CTO Ted Chang (張嘉淵) – will attend different group meetings and conduct exchanges with other leaders and ABAC representatives.