Former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) will represent President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) at the APEC Forum in Peru next month.
As a former vice president, Lien isthe highest-ranking Taiwanese official, former or current, to attend the event.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said that Lien, who will attend the event in his capacity as chairman of the National Policy Foundation, is the most suitable candidate because he has a profound understanding of the international situation and an impressive educational background.
The foundation is a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-affiliated think tank.
The leaders summit, better known as the informal economic leaders’ meeting, will take place in Lima from Nov. 21 through Nov. 23. The reception is scheduled for Nov. 20 and business networking, tours and golf are planned for Nov. 23.
Leaders scheduled to speak at the summit include Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, US President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
Asked for comment, KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) praised Ma’s choice, saying that Lien would make an excellent representative given his status in Taiwan.
Lu said having Lien as a representative would benefit the nation, as Lien would be able to communicate with leaders and senior officials from China and other countries at the summit.
Since Taiwan and China joined APEC in 1991, Beijing has blocked Taipei’s presidents and foreign ministers from attending the group’s annual forums, citing a memorandum of understanding signed with China and Hong Kong before Taipei joined the group in December 1991 under the name “Chinese Taipei.” The three economies entered the organization as a single economic entity.
In 1993, APEC leaders met for the first time at the fifth APEC forum, held in Seattle, Washington. Taiwan’s participation at the meeting marked the first time the nation joined an international multilateral summit since the Cairo Conference of 1943.
In 1995, following then-president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) visit to the US despite fierce opposition from China to attend a reunion at his alma mater, Cornell University, Beijing argued it was “impossible” for leaders from both sides to meet in international forums like APEC.
Beijing’s backroom bullying over Taiwan’s participation at APEC reached a climax in 2001, when the meeting was held in Shanghai.
Beijing flatly rejected then-president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) request that he be allowed to attend.
Taiwan was then blocked from attending the leaders meeting after China voted down Chen’s proposed candidate, former vice president Li Yuan-zu (李元簇).
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday called the appointment of Lien as APEC envoy “improper and disappointing.”
Lin Cheng-wei (林成蔚), head of the DPP’s Department of International Affairs, said that although Lien had been vice president and premier, he had failed to mention the name of his country — Republic of China — during his visit to China in his capacity as KMT chairman.
“Lien downgraded the country during his visit to China. How could Taiwanese expect him to stand up for his country in the international forum?” Lin asked.
Saying that Lien was an outsider on global economics and trade, DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said it was a pity the government could not come up with a better emissary to represent the nation at the forum.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND RICH CHANG
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
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