Lee Yuan-tseh (
The president disclosed his decision as he received APEC Secretariat Executive Director Mario Artaza at the Presidential Office. Artaza presented Chen with an invitation to the APEC meeting, signed by Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Escobar, the host of this year's APEC.
"I hope that during the [APEC Economic] Leaders meeting to be held in Santiago this year, [Academia Sinica president] Lee Yuan-tseh, who will attend the meeting on my behalf, will be received with fair treatment," Chen said.
This will be the third year in row in which Lee, a 1986 Nobel laureate for his work in chemistry, has been tapped by the president to act as his proxy at the annual economic meeting.
Chen took the opportunity to remind Artaza that although Taiwan is a full member of the economic group, its leader cannot participate in the annual forum.
"This, without a doubt, has totally deviated from the fair and open spirit of APEC," Chen said. "I believe this is also the biggest regret and loss since the establishment of APEC."
Since Taiwan and China joined APEC in 1991, China has blocked Taiwan's presidents and foreign ministers from attending the organization's annual forums.
Despite China's bullying and its oppression of Taiwan's diplomatic space, Taiwan had been active in taking part in APEC events, Chen said, adding that he also took pride in the fact that Taiwan has performed its role well and its participation in APEC has helped to pass resolutions pertaining to issues such as digital environment, sanitation and security.
The president also said he approved of the current economic exchanges between Taiwan and Chile, and conveyed his hope that there would, in the future, be more bilateral interactions between the two countries.
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