ROC and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

As introduced by the Yearbook of the Republic of China:

The ROC joined APEC in 1991. It has played an active role in this 21-member economic forum and has taken charge of several working groups and sub-fora in recent years. Currently, Taiwan serves as Convener of the Human Resource Development Steering Group of the Telecommunications and Information Working Group (TEL), Deputy Convener of the Development and Cooperation Steering Group under the TEL, and Chair of the Expert Group on Efficiency and Conservation of Energy Working Group.

During 2003, Taiwan participated in all major APEC meetings, including the 11th APEC Leaders' Meeting, the 15th APEC Ministerial Meeting, four other ministerial meetings, the Meeting on Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR), four senior officials meetings (SOM), and meetings of various APEC working groups. Taiwan not only held bilateral talks with other member economies during these meetings to strengthen substantive relations, but also hosted 18 APEC meetings and activities in Taiwan, including the Incubator Forum, the Best Practices Guideline for Financing Chain, and the Chemical Dialogue Capacity Building for the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) Project.

The 11th APEC Leaders' Meeting took place in Bangkok, Thailand, in October 2003. Dr. Lee Yuan-tseh, President of Academia Sinica, represented President Chen at this meeting. During the meeting, Dr. Lee made statements on the WTO's Multilateral Trading System and counter-terrorism. He also elaborated on the IT School Initiative proposed by Taiwan. Moreover, Dr. Lee proposed the idea of founding an APEC Digital Opportunity Development Center within the APEC framework. This idea was welcomed by other APEC leaders and was stated in the Chair's Summary. Dr. Lee's active participation in the meeting won him much praise and successfully enhanced the visibility of Taiwan.

In the future, Taiwan will continue to actively participate in various APEC meetings and events to strengthen its cooperation with other economies.