Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (工商協進會) chairman Lin Por-fong (林伯豐) yesterday said that he would not attend a Taiwan-US economic dialogue scheduled for today.
Lin on Tuesday said that he received an invitation from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to join the dialogue, at which US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach is to attend with his delegation.
“The association will not send a substitute, because there is no time to find one,” the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported on its Web site yesterday, citing Lin.
Photo: CNA
The story cited sources saying that AIT does not like participants to talk about the event and conveyed its concerns after Lin spoke with the media.
Lin, who is chairman of Taiwan Glass Industry Corp (台灣玻璃) said that the association needs only to respond to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, because the ministry — not other institutes — is in charge of regulating and supporting local industries, he said.
Prior to Krach’s arrival, local media reported that he was to host the US-Taiwan Economic and Commercial Dialogue — a new platform established to bolster bilateral economic ties — after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) last month said that the government would work to lift restrictions on imports of US pork and beef, days after US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar visited Taiwan.
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