President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed Acer founder Stan Shih (施振榮) as his envoy to this year’s APEC summit, after host country Peru declined his first pick, former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), due to China’s objections, a source in Taipei said yesterday.
Lai initially selected Chen as his former posts as vice president and premier could enhance Taiwan’s presence in APEC, but most importantly, because he has expertise in public health and biotechnology, which he could contribute to APEC meetings, the sources said.
As a Catholic who was in 2010 made a knight of the Vatican’s Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Chen’s visit to the predominantly Catholic Peru would signal respect and friendliness to the host country, they added.
Photo: Ting Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
However, he was replaced with Shih after the Peruvian government on Wednesday last week said it could not issue him an official invitation, despite communications lasting for months, the source said.
The Peruvian government said that it would prefer an envoy without a political background, as decisions made by APEC are reached by consensus among member states, they said.
Lima’s refusal of Chen was apparently made under pressure from Beijing, who is known to have close ties with the Peruvian government, they added.
After the Presidential Office named Shih as envoy, Lima said it would send officials to Taiwan to deliver the invitation and meet with Lai, the source said.
As Shih previously served as the envoy to the APEC summit under then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 2007, he is familiar with the bloc’s affairs, they said.
In the past few years, he has focused on net zero carbon emissions, and last year cofounded Porrima Inc, a manufacturer of zero carbon ships, of which he is chairman.
This year, the UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing named Shih a global ambassador for longevity. He is also chairman of the Taiwan Innovation Centre for Ageing, which promotes health and longevity technology.
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