Former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) will represent President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) at the APEC Forum in Peru next month.
As a former vice president, Lien isthe highest-ranking Taiwanese official, former or current, to attend the event.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said that Lien, who will attend the event in his capacity as chairman of the National Policy Foundation, is the most suitable candidate because he has a profound understanding of the international situation and an impressive educational background.
The foundation is a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-affiliated think tank.
The leaders summit, better known as the informal economic leaders’ meeting, will take place in Lima from Nov. 21 through Nov. 23. The reception is scheduled for Nov. 20 and business networking, tours and golf are planned for Nov. 23.
Leaders scheduled to speak at the summit include Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, US President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
Asked for comment, KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) praised Ma’s choice, saying that Lien would make an excellent representative given his status in Taiwan.
Lu said having Lien as a representative would benefit the nation, as Lien would be able to communicate with leaders and senior officials from China and other countries at the summit.
Since Taiwan and China joined APEC in 1991, Beijing has blocked Taipei’s presidents and foreign ministers from attending the group’s annual forums, citing a memorandum of understanding signed with China and Hong Kong before Taipei joined the group in December 1991 under the name “Chinese Taipei.” The three economies entered the organization as a single economic entity.
In 1993, APEC leaders met for the first time at the fifth APEC forum, held in Seattle, Washington. Taiwan’s participation at the meeting marked the first time the nation joined an international multilateral summit since the Cairo Conference of 1943.
In 1995, following then-president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) visit to the US despite fierce opposition from China to attend a reunion at his alma mater, Cornell University, Beijing argued it was “impossible” for leaders from both sides to meet in international forums like APEC.
Beijing’s backroom bullying over Taiwan’s participation at APEC reached a climax in 2001, when the meeting was held in Shanghai.
Beijing flatly rejected then-president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) request that he be allowed to attend.
Taiwan was then blocked from attending the leaders meeting after China voted down Chen’s proposed candidate, former vice president Li Yuan-zu (李元簇).
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday called the appointment of Lien as APEC envoy “improper and disappointing.”
Lin Cheng-wei (林成蔚), head of the DPP’s Department of International Affairs, said that although Lien had been vice president and premier, he had failed to mention the name of his country — Republic of China — during his visit to China in his capacity as KMT chairman.
“Lien downgraded the country during his visit to China. How could Taiwanese expect him to stand up for his country in the international forum?” Lin asked.
Saying that Lien was an outsider on global economics and trade, DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said it was a pity the government could not come up with a better emissary to represent the nation at the forum.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND RICH CHANG
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’