President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday named Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) as Taiwan’s representative to the APEC economic leaders’ meeting in November.
It is the fourth time that Tsai has appointed Chang to represent her at an APEC summit.
The nation’s presidents cannot attend APEC summits due to opposition from China.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
Chang is also to participate in an informal leaders’ retreat on Friday, Tsai said at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
The retreat and summit are to be held online.
The leaders’ retreat would be the first of its kind for APEC, and presents an opportunity for leaders to discuss immediate measures for COVID-19 recovery and to build more sustainable economies, this year’s host New Zealand has said.
Tsai said she has asked Chang to voice two stances at the retreat.
First, APEC should put more effort into ensuring that each member receives COVID-19 vaccines quickly and that vaccine distribution is fair, she said.
“The supply of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide still lags demand. APEC countries should help each other so that the supply of vaccines can be faster and more stable. This way, the pandemic can be more effectively contained and the economy can recover,” Tsai said.
Second, APEC nations should cooperate and contribute to the global recovery from the pandemic under the principles of free trade, Tsai said.
Chang said that he is honored to have been appointed by Tsai to attend the APEC summit and that he agrees with the points she wants him to deliver.
“Although the meetings will be held virtually, there will still be many opportunities for us to exchange thoughts with leaders,” Chang said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to