President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has designated Lin Hsin-yi (林信義) as his envoy to the APEC leadership summit and host country, South Korea has accepted him, Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who had originally been tapped by Chen to be his envoy expressed his regrets that he could not go because of Seoul's objections.
"I do feel sorry since the Legislative Yuan had showed its full support for me going to the summit," he said.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Lin is the convener of the economic advisory group to the president and a former minister of economic affairs.
Yu said Lin's familiarity with economic affairs made him the best person to attend the summit, which will be held Nov 18 and 19 in Busan.
"We've notified host country, South Korea, and it does not have a problem with Lin's attendance," Yu said.
Yu noted that Lin had participated in APEC meetings for economic ministers in Brunei in 2000 and Shanghai in 2001. He said those experiences would be a plus for Lin in fighting for Taiwan's interests.
Chen told a strategy meeting yesterday afternoon that Taiwan will continue to fight for the right to participate in international affairs.
"China's recent malice in hampering Taiwan from participating in APEC freely shows its strategy aimed at directing Taiwan just to China rather than the rest of the world," Chen said. "We will significantly improve international public relations to ensure a correct understanding of the facts regarding China's malice."
‘UNACCEPTABLE’: The foreign ministry said that China’s behavior broke international law, while Johnny Chiang was worried such balloons could be used against Taiwan A suspected Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the US was yesterday condemned by officials in Taipei and sparked calls for the government to plan countermeasures. The Pentagon on Thursday said it had detected a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the country. Beijing has said the balloon is a civilian meteorological device that drifted into US territory after being blown off course. The National Security Bureau and Ministry of National Defense should investigate whether surveillance balloons could be used against Taiwan and prepare to respond to such acts, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s postponement
INTELLIGENCE VALUE: While the US was working on recovering the balloon’s remains, China said that it reserved ‘the right to make ... necessary responses’ US President Joe Biden’s administration lauded the Pentagon for shooting down an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the US Atlantic coast on Saturday, but China angrily voiced its “strong dissatisfaction” at the move, and said it might make “necessary responses.” The craft spent several days flying over North America before it was targeted off the coast of the southeastern state of South Carolina with a missile fired from an F-22 plane, Pentagon officials said. It fell into relatively shallow water just 14m deep. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called the operation a “deliberate and lawful action” that came in response to China’s
RISK FACTOR: ASEAN issued a statement saying the cross-strait situation ‘could lead to miscalculation,’ but it is willing to facilitate dialogue to ensure stability in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed a joint statement by ASEAN leaders voicing concerns that the situation across the Taiwan Strait could affect regional stability. The statement was issued after the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat ended on Saturday in Jakarta. It was the first major meeting since Indonesia assumed chairmanship of ASEAN this year. Attendees of the meeting reiterated their determination to promote “sustainable peace, security, stability, and prosperity within and beyond the region,” the statement said. They expressed concerns about developments across the Taiwan Strait and their “implications on regional stability,” the statement said. The cross-strait situation “could lead to miscalculation, serious
THINK TANK VISIT: The former US Indo-Pacific official said that a capture of Taiwan’s outlying islands by China rather than a large-scale attack is a grave security concern The US and Taiwan can deepen their relations on many fronts, former head of the US Indo-Pacific Command Philip Davidson said yesterday while visiting President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office. Davidson is leading a six-member delegation from the National Bureau of Asian Research, a US-based think tank. They arrived on Monday and are scheduled to depart tomorrow. Tsai met with the delegation yesterday morning, welcoming the organization on its first visit to Taiwan since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the office said in a statement. She thanked Davidson, a retired admiral, for paying close attention to matters regarding the Taiwan