What's it all about, APEC?
That's the question each time leaders from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation hold their annual summit.
Wags have mocked the summit as "four adjectives in search of a noun" or "aging politicians enjoying cocktails." Other critics call APEC ineffectual, or say its emphasis on pushing free trade comes at the expense of developing nations and the poor.
Officials of the 21-member forum insist the meeting is more than just a talk shop.
Still, this year's gathering in Busan was typical: It focused on how to respond to trouble within the WTO -- an issue that lies outside the confines of APEC and that the APEC summit covered five years ago.
After six days of preparatory meetings by senior officials, ministers, and leaders including US President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), the summit on Saturday called for a breakthrough in the WTO's current global trade round, stalled over disputes about reducing farming subsidies, mostly in Europe.
But no one is certain that anyone outside APEC will listen -- even though the group's collective clout includes seven of the world's largest economies and almost half the world's trade.
Critics have long had a field day with the consensus-driven APEC, which was founded in 1989 to "further enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community." APEC operates on the principle of unanimous agreement, with all decisions and statements being ultimately nonbinding.
"We know that it's voluntary to be part of APEC but this voluntarism must show some results," said Julio Millan, chief executive of Mexican conglomerate Coraza Corp Azteca, who with other corporate leaders lobbies the forum through the APEC Business Advisory Council.
Defenders argue that APEC's uniqueness lies in being a forum for dialogue between government and business. It also provides a place for APEC leaders to speak with each other individually. Sideline meetings are such a mainstay of APEC summits that some fret they overshadow the larger agenda.
"I worry sometimes that the developed countries treat this as a bilateral meeting event," said Roberto Romulo, a former Philippine foreign secretary.
One thing APEC leaders agreed on in Busan: They'll gather again next year, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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