President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday announced that she had once again tapped Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) to represent her at the APEC leaders’ summit next month.
It is the second straight year that Chang is to go to the annual summit, which is to take place in Santiago, Chile, on Nov. 16 and 17.
Chang also represented Taiwan at the 2006 summit as then-president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) representative.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Chang, 88, is the former chairman of TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker. He retired on June 5 last year after more than three decades at the company’s helm.
Tsai told a news conference at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei that she chose Chang as her representative, because of his respected status in the international arena and in-depth knowledge of the evolution and development of the nation’s technology sector.
Tsai said she has given Chang and the APEC delegation two major tasks. The first is to share Taiwan’s views on how to strengthen international economic integration in the digital era.
The president said she wants Chang to tell the gathering of the nation’s resolve and accomplishments in promoting a digital society and smart nation policies over the past few years.
The second is to make known Taiwan’s dedication to promoting inclusive and sustainable growth, and joining other economies to boost economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region in an inclusive and sustainable way, Tsai said.
APEC is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and the emergence of the Internet has drastically changed the economy and people’s way of life over the past three decades, Chang said.
He said he would discuss how to fully utilize the digital economy to advance people’s welfare and solve problems, as the digital economy has also caused negative social effects, such as more severe unemployment and wealth inequality.
Chang met US Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of last year’s APEC summit in Papua New Guinea for talks on free trade.
It was the highest-level talks between leaders from Taiwan and the US at an APEC event.
At the 2006 summit in Hanoi, Chang was greeted by then-US president George W. Bush at the summit, who said: “I know who you are.”
Taiwan joined the regional economic forum in 1991, two years after its establishment.
However, Taiwan’s president cannot attend the APEC leaders summit, due to the group’s “one China” position.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
RSS