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.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
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